“The part of Joseph’s story nobody talks about is the enemies he must have made the day he was elevated to second only to Pharaoh. Prisoner to prime minister just like that? It’s almost like an intern becoming deputy ceo, overnight.
Pharaoh had military generals and probably a chief of staff. How do you think they would feel about the sudden promotion of a former prisoner over them. The Bible didn’t capture it but they definitely would have fought back through defiance or disobedience.”
This was my brother speaking to me.
“You know I’ve never heard that story told from this angle before”, I responded as I nodded. “Where did you hear or read about it?”
“No where. It just came to me as we were speaking. So I as I encourage you, I’m also edifying myself.” He said.
“Oh and there’s Potiphar and his wife. Because the Bible never recorded her being repentant of her actions of lying against Joseph. Others may have instigated them to go before Pharoag with the truth”. I added.
“Exactly”, he said. “They may have been coerced into letting Pharoah know the character of the person he just promoted cos only Joseph and Potiphar’s wife knew the truth”. He continued.
“And Joseph may even have struggled with management of a nation because all he had was an interpretation to a dream with limited management experience having only managed Potiphar’s house. The Bible didn’t capture his struggles too even though we know he eventually overcame”. I added.
“Why do you think the Israelites were made slaves afterwards? I’m sure that descendants of those who thought Joseph, a foreigner and a slave came to take their place may have been bent on never letting it happen again. That’s to tell you that some battles are transgenerational.”
This conversation between my brother, a Medical Doctor, and I came up during a tête-à-tête. I was battling severe cough and he had come to give me a new set of medication as the ones initially prescribed were not doing it for me.
The lens through which he viewed the very popular Bible story opened up new layers and the uncomfortable truth that elevation comes at a cost. While many people pray for growth especially the kind that leaves others spellbound by its improbability, few stop to consider the battles that often accompany it.
The cost of your elevation may be someone else’s disappointment. Your promotion may represent the loss of another person’s ambition, influence, or opportunity. The battle becomes even fiercer when those watching believe you do not deserve what you have received.
How dare you a prisoner try to be comfortable in the palace?
What makes you think you deserve a place at the table with men who may have only known royalty all their lives?
Why should I take instructions from you whose background is questionable and whose educational qualifications may be nothing close to what Egypt offers?
And to make it worse an ex-convict, one who tried to rape their master’s wife? You must be joking if you expect a red carpet or peace.
Now I wish I could have just one conversation with Joseph. He may tell me the truth most people do not pause to consider, which is that elevation often solves one problem and creates another.
Perhaps that was why I found myself wishing I could sit across from Joseph and ask him a few questions. It felt like a sermon in time, like God speaking to me through my brother - as always.
As I listened, I realized the conversation wasn’t really about Joseph anymore. It was about seasons of transition and the often-unspoken realities that accompany growth. Perhaps that was why it resonated so deeply. Lately, I have found myself reflecting on relationships too, the people who journeyed with us in one season but may not be equipped for the next.
Growth has hidden costs, and perhaps that is why wise counsel becomes even more important during seasons of transition.
I expressed this to my brother too. The search for wise companions while navigating new realities. I noted that with time and experience, I’m beginning to see that friendships that served some purpose years ago may not do the same today.
This led to me expressing a desire I had said as a prayer before he arrived. That I wanted to reconnect with someone I lost contact with years ago.
“I even prayed about it”. I said. “I know it sounds weird but I just think that they are well experienced and would be objective and factual without being judgmental.”
He validated my thoughts and noted that it is rarer to find people with no ulterior motives that can be relied on than most people would admit.
Minutes later, I was on a phone call with a friend and I shared the conversation with her. We found ourselves discussing a need that is perhaps more common than most people admit: the desire to find someone who has experienced enough to understand context, is sufficiently detached to be objective, and has little incentive to manipulate the outcome. To be seen, known, and understood without being judged.
I am mulling over the conversations now and while I still hope for the reconnection with the person from the past, I am taking solace in the reality that sometimes God returns lost relationships, and sometimes He provides the qualities we seek through entirely new relationships.
So whether the reconnection I desire happens or not, I will rest knowing that the prayer I made got an almost immediate answer through a brother showing up with cough medicine and an unexpected conversation to remind me that I am not as alone as I may think.
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