Guest Post by Dr. Jeannie Trudel
Seventeen-year-old Joseph was the apple of his father’s eye. His brothers weren’t happy about that, though, especially since Joseph was a bit of a dreamer who spent more time herding sheep than helping his brothers. Joseph soon found himself in crisis.
Life as he’d always known it shifted radically when his brothers tricked him one day and sold him into slavery. He was taken from a homeland full of promise, whisked away into a foreign and troubled land, and forced into manual labor. He had no idea what the future held.
For Joseph, it was a sudden plunge into disruption, catastrophe, and heartache, all at the same time. And had God not intervened in his life, he would have, well, remained a safe, dreaming shepherd.
Even when life’s changes seem to come in one big swoop, changing all that is familiar, such circumstances can transform us into the people God has always planned for us to become.
The story of Joseph reminds us that God has long been in the business of using unexpected, disruptive, and even unjust crises to shape and form his people. Joseph’s response to these circumstances model for us how to pivot, to adjust, and to stay focused even when the way forward is not obvious.
Joseph’s story provides a helpful lesson: Even when life’s changes seem to come in one big swoop, changing all that is familiar, such circumstances can transform us into the people God has always planned for us to become.
Yes, Joseph became a slave and then a servant in Potiphar’s household, but he chose to be consistent and faithful in each new challenge. He did find favor, but he didn’t jump as a 17-year-old shepherd boy into the governor’s palace of Egypt—14 years passed before he became Pharaoh’s right-hand man.
How did he survive along the way?
He pivoted with the circumstances.
How Do We Pivot?
Pivoting is about changing your orientation or reorienting your strategy. It involves moving around the center of something but never so far that you lose your bearings. In other words, it requires a series of accumulated small decisions whenever change comes, ones we make at different points with each challenge. The sum or accumulation of those decisions then equates to a pivot.
As a slave in Potiphar’s household, Joseph thought things were going well. He became the manager of his whole household—that is, until he was wrongly accused and thrown into prison, where again he had to pivot. Joseph navigated the injustice of imprisonment by being different than other prisoners; not only did he behave well, but he also became a model prisoner. His integrity and character in the face of more disruption gained the trust of the warden, and Joseph was given responsibility over the whole prison.
While in prison, Joseph was asked to explain the meaning of the king’s servants’ dreams. I find it interesting that there’s no record of Joseph being able to interpret dreams before this time, and yet out of the blue, two of the king’s imprisoned servants shared with him their dreams. His ability to interpret them led to his role in Pharaoh’s palace.
As second-in-command of all Egypt, Joseph was in just the right place, at just the right time, to help his brothers and his people survive their own catastrophe.
Problems or Opportunities?
Joseph’s life was a series of pivots in response to circumstances beyond his control. With each step, Joseph trusted God as he tried to be faithful. His story reminds us that we can see our life’s challenges and disruptions as either problems or an opportunities, either from the viewpoint of a slave or a steward of God’s gifts.
Research suggests that those who look at life in terms of opportunities are more able to change and to pivot. Those who see life as a series of problems are less likely to change. If Joseph had looked at life in terms of problems, perhaps he would have remained a slave.
Slave or Steward?
Slaves resent unexpected change and get stuck in it. Stewards are flexible and hopeful, offering God every small decision, every day. They focus on God, not their circumstances. And when their worlds are turned upside down, they’re ready to pivot and navigate new territory.
Stewards ask God, “Lord, how do you want me to respond at this time?”
Like Joseph, you and I have a choice when crisis comes: We can resist change, or we can pivot into unexpected adventures with God—and be all the better for it.
Dr. Jeannie Trudel has been a leader in higher education in the United States, Asia, and Australia. She has trusted God through many pivots in her own life.