Gratitude

GRATITUDE: BUILDING BRIDGES, NOT WALLS 

JOSEPH DIDN’T BUILD WALLS IN HIS LIFE, HE BUILT BRIDGES 

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.  When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”    Genesis 37:3 - 7

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.    Genesis 37:28

 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 

Genesis 39:11 - 12

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”  Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.    Genesis 41:41 -43

Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.  “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”  Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.  Genesis 42:6 - 8

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”  Genesis 50:20a

THAT IS THE HEART OF GRATITUDE - SEEING GOD’S HAND EVEN IN THE HARDEST PLACES

GRATITUDE CAN CHANGE HOW WE SEE EVERYTHING: 

GRATITUDE GIVES US PERSPECTIVE 

GRATITUDE KEEPS OUR HEARTS OPEN 

GRATITUDE TURNS OUR LOSS INTO LEGACY

WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE … 

IN THE PIT - BE GRATEFUL   

IN POTIPHAR’S HOUSE - BE FAITHFUL  

IN PRISON - BE PATIENT 

IN THE PALACE - BE HUMBLE 

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET MORE GRATITUDE IN MY LIFE? 

REMEMBER GOD’S FAITHFULNESS 

SPEAK GRATITUDE DAILY 

FORGIVE FREELY 

SERVE OTHERS

JOSEPH’S STORY POINTS US TO SOMEONE GREATER - JESUS CHRIST