Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. 4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. (Passage Link: Genesis 37:3-4)
Young, ambitious, and perhaps overzealous, Joseph soon learned that despite favor with his father, he would have to learn to harness his newly found gifts and couple them with humility.
At some point, our gifts will make a place for us; in fact, it will likely gain us audience with kings. But, there is no circumventing God’s process and plan. Given a preview of things to come in his life, Joseph surely must have thought this was going to take shape quickly, when in reality…it was going to take decades to fully come to fruition.
The other aspect of our gifts and skills according to Proverbs 22:29, not only will our skills allows us to stand before kings, we will not stand before “mean men!” Joseph’s brothers were not warm to the idea of their brother being their leader and were more than mean – they were bitter.
Even Jesus, God wrapped in flesh, followed the proper channels, Luke 2:52 teaches us, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
In short, you may well have the calling, the gifting, and the talent, but without the favor of God and man, you’ll run into angry men long before you ever appear before kings.
More on the Coats of Joseph’s Life – “From a Coat of Many Colors to Many Coats of Color”
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