A Successful New Year
The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man. Genesis 39:2
You probably received holiday cards that wished you a successful or a prosperous new year. I know I did. In India, at least in the sub-culture where I grew up, not only was this wishing of success and prosperity for the new year a custom, there was a concept of the first that was given much importance, almost to the point of obsessive superstition. It was the belief that the success for the new year depended on my actions on the first day of the year. What I did on New Years day charted the course for the rest of the year. So we were told that if we slept in on January 1st, we would be lazy for the rest of the year. If we fought, we could expect conflict all year. We were expected to do and behave the way we wanted the rest of the year to go. It was as if by magic everything would go the same the rest of the year. A successful year depended on my actions on Janaury 1st, whatever success may mean. While I do not advocate superstitious behavior, new year is certainly a marker in life, and there is a certainly value in the discipline of commencing the actions we would like to see develop as a habit. And, this year I not only want to join in wishing you a great and successful year, but point you to what will make us successful in the coming year.
Some of you by now already have objections. What is success, and what makes Danesh an authority on success? While I may not be qualified to do so, I know the book that certainly qualifies, and the Author who knows all and sees all. Many people associate success with position, achievement, wealth, influence, or power. But the Bible does not equate success with any of these. In one of the strangest places the Bible interjects the story of Joseph with a proclamation – “the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.”
We are not surprised because we know the end of the story. We know Joseph as the ruler of Egypt under Pharoh. But this proclamation occurs just after Joseph has been sold into slavery to the Egyptian chief prison guard Potiphar. It happens when you would consider Joseph’s life all but over. A young boy of seventeen abducted by his own brothers, and sold into slavery into Egypt. I find it hard to imagine a more unfortunate case, or a bleaker chance at success. But the Bible declares him as a successful man. because the LORD was with him. In other words Joseph was where God wanted him to be. He was in God’s perfect will. He was in the process of fulfilling his high, heavenly and holy calling. In bleak circumstances, his relationship with God was unbroken, and God’s favor rested on him. Success, in God’s book was not a snapshot I a moment of time, it was a progressive journey. In other words, God views success as a process, a journey, not a destination. He views you as a success when you know your purpose and are fulfilling it, and you are pressing forward and growing in God’s potential for you. The Hebrew word used in this passage is tsaw-lay-ach which literally means to move forward, to push forward, or to break out. May I suggest a definition of success – Success is a journey of unbroken fellowship with God while fulfilling our God-inspired, high, holy, and heavenly calling, utilizing our God given gifts and talents to its highest potential.
God was with Joseph and he was successful. It is even more amazing to read that God was with Joseph because apart from the dreams he had, we never read about an encounter that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had. It has not been recorded that God wrestled, or spoke, or that Joseph saw a vision, yet even Pharoh could not contain himself to exclaim that the Spirit of God was in Joseph! God was with Joseph. How do you get God on your side? You don’t. You get on His side! And Joseph did just that. We find that he is still a God-fearing man who trusts in the ultimate goodness of His God, and acts in harmony with God’s Word in spite of his circumstances.
The New Year is a marker in our lives. And as you reflect, contemplate, and anticipate, I wish you a successful year! Or, shall I say “I wish that God be with you!”
Danesh Manik
You probably received holiday cards that wished you a successful or a prosperous new year. I know I did. In India, at least in the sub-culture where I grew up, not only was this wishing of success and prosperity for the new year a custom, there was a concept of the first that was given much importance, almost to the point of obsessive superstition. It was the belief that the success for the new year depended on my actions on the first day of the year. What I did on New Years day charted the course for the rest of the year. So we were told that if we slept in on January 1st, we would be lazy for the rest of the year. If we fought, we could expect conflict all year. We were expected to do and behave the way we wanted the rest of the year to go. It was as if by magic everything would go the same the rest of the year. A successful year depended on my actions on Janaury 1st, whatever success may mean. While I do not advocate superstitious behavior, new year is certainly a marker in life, and there is a certainly value in the discipline of commencing the actions we would like to see develop as a habit. And, this year I not only want to join in wishing you a great and successful year, but point you to what will make us successful in the coming year.
Some of you by now already have objections. What is success, and what makes Danesh an authority on success? While I may not be qualified to do so, I know the book that certainly qualifies, and the Author who knows all and sees all. Many people associate success with position, achievement, wealth, influence, or power. But the Bible does not equate success with any of these. In one of the strangest places the Bible interjects the story of Joseph with a proclamation – “the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.”
We are not surprised because we know the end of the story. We know Joseph as the ruler of Egypt under Pharoh. But this proclamation occurs just after Joseph has been sold into slavery to the Egyptian chief prison guard Potiphar. It happens when you would consider Joseph’s life all but over. A young boy of seventeen abducted by his own brothers, and sold into slavery into Egypt. I find it hard to imagine a more unfortunate case, or a bleaker chance at success. But the Bible declares him as a successful man. because the LORD was with him. In other words Joseph was where God wanted him to be. He was in God’s perfect will. He was in the process of fulfilling his high, heavenly and holy calling. In bleak circumstances, his relationship with God was unbroken, and God’s favor rested on him. Success, in God’s book was not a snapshot I a moment of time, it was a progressive journey. In other words, God views success as a process, a journey, not a destination. He views you as a success when you know your purpose and are fulfilling it, and you are pressing forward and growing in God’s potential for you. The Hebrew word used in this passage is tsaw-lay-ach which literally means to move forward, to push forward, or to break out. May I suggest a definition of success – Success is a journey of unbroken fellowship with God while fulfilling our God-inspired, high, holy, and heavenly calling, utilizing our God given gifts and talents to its highest potential.
God was with Joseph and he was successful. It is even more amazing to read that God was with Joseph because apart from the dreams he had, we never read about an encounter that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had. It has not been recorded that God wrestled, or spoke, or that Joseph saw a vision, yet even Pharoh could not contain himself to exclaim that the Spirit of God was in Joseph! God was with Joseph. How do you get God on your side? You don’t. You get on His side! And Joseph did just that. We find that he is still a God-fearing man who trusts in the ultimate goodness of His God, and acts in harmony with God’s Word in spite of his circumstances.
The New Year is a marker in our lives. And as you reflect, contemplate, and anticipate, I wish you a successful year! Or, shall I say “I wish that God be with you!”
Danesh Manik
posted by Danesh Manik | 12:54 PM
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