I think it would have been easy for Joseph just to embrace the value and identity that other people tried to place on him. He could have embraced his life as a slave or allowed himself to believe that he was only as good as his physical appearance or the talents that he had been given by God. However, the Bible is clear that Joseph was a man who lived by faith. He didn’t allow himself to be devalued or re-identified because he knew that he was a child of the living God. He knew that God had a purpose for His life even when he was sold into slavery, thrown in prison, and completely forgotten about.
Throughout our lives people are going to try and place value and identity us. We will face circumstances that make us want to devalue or re-identify ourselves as something less than God created us to be. Which leads me to the two points from our message this past Sunday:
1. Your Value is NOT Determined by what Others Think of you but by the ONE who Made you.
Psalm 139:13-14 reminds us that we were created by God on purpose. Our appearances, talents, abilities, and personality traits are given to us by God and God does not make mistakes. No matter how other people may try and devalue or redefine us we can be secure in our TRUE IDENTITY as a child of God.
2. Your Value is NOT Determined by your Circumstances but by the ONE who is in Control of them.
Joseph’s life was marked by up and down circumstances. He had really high points and really low points in his life. If we live life long enough the same will be true of us. When we are faced with difficult circumstances we have a choice. We can allow those circumstances to define us or we can defer that decision to the one who controls our circumstances. Satan will try and use your difficult circumstances to define you. He wants you to live in defeat and embrace your negative circumstances as your identity.
Romans 8:38-39 reminds us that NO Circumstances can EVER separate us from the love of God that we have in Christ. If you have trusted in Christ for salvation then you are a child of God. No difficult trial or circumstance can ever take that away from you.
Joseph chose by faith to not allow the circumstances of his slavery to define him. He trusted in the One who was in control of his identity even when everything seemed to be going wrong. Jospeh was able to be used by God in some incredible ways because He knew what his true identity was even when the people around him and the circumstances he faced tried to tell him another story.
No matter how people might try and devalue or re-identify us we can trust in our TRUE IDENTITY as a child of God. No persons opinion or difficult circumstances can ever take that away from us. Our TRUE IDENTITY is found in our faith in Christ.