One of the greatest stories in the Bible is Joseph, who was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers at seventeen. Can you imagine how easy it would have been for him to wallow in self-pity as a servant of Potiphar or hold bitterness towards his brothers and captors? But not Joseph, he became proactive; in fact, in the story, it says several times, “Whatever there was to do, he became the doer of it.”Because of that proactive approach, within a short time, he was running Potiphar’s household.
Then the day came when Joseph was caught in a problematic situation and refused to compromise his integrity. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him and failed, so she accused him of rape. As a result, he was imprisoned for thirteen years, but again he became proactive in prison and rose to Egypt’s prime minister, second only to Pharaoh.
What did it? Joseph’s proactive approach directly affected his character, which affected his abilities, purpose, and potential. Remember the phrase, “Whatever there was to do, he became the doer of it.” In that, Joseph discovered one of the great biblical principles: as we make and keep promises to ourselves and others, it causes our character to become stronger than our moods and emotions. We become guided by the inside and not pulled from the outside! This proactive approach to doing what we said we would do deepens our integrity, strengthening our character.