The story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis is truly a classic. From Joseph’s time being favored by his father and hated by his brothers to being unjustly thrown into prison, you wonder if things would ever end well for Joseph. As the story of Joseph’s life continues, God eventually positions him before Pharaoh, leading to unbelievable promotion for Joseph. There are three distinct keys that led to Joseph’s elevation in the land of Egypt.

1. Living with integrity. When Joseph was being pursued by Potiphar’s wife who tried to seduce him into having an affair with her, Joseph turned her down flat. Not only did he call sleeping with a married woman “immense evil”, he acknowledged in Genesis 39:9 it would be a sin against God.
   “…So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”
   
2. Stewarding your gifts well. God gave Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams and he used his gift to help others, even while he was imprisoned for something he did not do. Most important, he acknowledged that it was God working through him to give the interpretation. Genesis 40:8 reads, “…Then Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams’”.
   
3. Walking in humility. Joseph was given what we may call “an opportunity of a lifetime” to come before Pharaoh and interpret his dream. Instead of using this opportunity to lift himself up before Pharaoh, a man of great power, Joseph remained humble and gave glory to God for his gift. When Pharaoh told Joseph he heard that he could interpret dreams, Joseph responded in Genesis 41:16, “I am not able to. It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

The story continues with Pharaoh giving Joseph the number two position in authority over all of Egypt where God was able to use Joseph for purposes beyond Joseph’s wildest imagination.