No matter who you are. No matter what you do. You make a difference! It can be for good or for bad, but everyone makes a difference in the lives of those with whom we come in contact.

Joseph is a perfect example of how one person can make a difference in the lives of so many people. He was just a young man when he was sold to the Egyptians, but from the beginning he changed lives.

After being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, he was sent to prison. There he met two men, a butler and a baker. Both men had dreams, and Joseph interpreted their dreams. The butler was restored to his position, and the baker was killed.

Joseph had requested that they remember him to the king, but neither did. The baker, however, did remember when Pharaoh had dreams no one could interpret. Joseph, with guidance from God, interpreted his dream and set Egypt on a course of wealth and prosperity through seven years of plenty and seven years of famine.

Think of all the ways Joseph changed lives. He prepared a nation for survival in a famine, saved the nations around Egypt from sure starvation, and made Egypt a wealthy nation from selling the grain he had stored. But the most important of all was his discovering his own estranged family and uniting them to form the nation of Israel.

Joseph recognized that God was behind what had happened to him. He said:

“And God sent me before you to preserve you a prosperity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:7-8 KJV)

 Joseph knew that through all his trials and even temptations, God had been with him and had directed his paths. He was always with Joseph.

What a difference it would make if we looked at our lives the way Joseph looked at his. Because he did the right things and remained faithful to God, even in a heathen nation, God was with him and directed him to make a difference in the world.

When we remain faithful, are obedient to God’s will, and use our talents for good, God can help us make a difference. Psalm 118:24 says: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” If we face each day with that attitude and the determination to make a difference in just one life, we will certainly make a difference.

Like Joseph, you too can make a difference!

Sandra Oliver