WHILE OUR LIVES are variable; we measure them in moments—we measure them in pits, peaks and transitions. They shape us.
When they are meaningful, they stand out in our memories, and we call them defining moments.
The Narrative
GROWING UP in a large family has its drawbacks.
Joseph's brothers hated him because of their father's love, and they spoke harshly to him.
Then, Joseph had a dream of his brothers bowing down to him. He told them, and they hated him the more.
"Do you intend to reign over us? Will, you actually rule us?" they asked. (Genesis 37:8)
Rather than invest at the moment, they turned a meaningful moment into a forgettable one.
Joseph's brothers made his experience difficult, but he had an insight—Joseph had a gift to influence his future.
When he had another dream, he told his brothers and Jacob, his father.
Jacob rebuked him, and the brothers were jealous of him. However, Jacob kept the matter in his mind. (Genesis 37:10)
The Pit
ONE DAY, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers. When he got to Shechem, he found out that they had gone to Dothan.
When they saw Joseph, they planned to kill him.
"Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then, we'll see what comes of his dreams." (Genesis 37:20)
But Reuben (one of his brothers) pleaded with them not to do so. They stripped Joseph of his clothes and threw him into a dry pit.
And as they sat down to eat, they saw a caravan of Midianites. They sold him to the merchants.
In Egypt, the merchants sold Joseph to Potiphar. And when Potiphar saw that God was with him, he put Joseph in charge of everything he had.
But Potiphar's wife lusted after Joseph. She made advances towards him, and he refused.
Joseph will not sin against God. He invested in the moment by obeying God's word.
Then, she accused Joseph of trying to sleep with her, and he was thrown in prison.
For him, the time in the pit was a negative defining moment.
The Transition
IN PRISON, Joseph found favour. The chief warder put him in charge of other inmates.
When the cupbearer and the baker offended the king, they were put in the same prison.
One day, both had a dream. When Joseph saw them the following morning, they looked dejected.
Joseph asked them what their problems were. And when they told him, he said that interpretations belong to God.
They told him their dreams, and he gave them the interpretations. Joseph seized the moment.
In three days—the butler was restored to his position, and the baker was beheaded.
He understood that his imprisonment was a pit stop to the next move. So, he pleaded with the butler to remember him. (Genesis 40:14)
He needed someone to flip his pit into a peak, but the butler forgot him.
Do you feel forgotten? God will cause your destiny helpers to remember you.
Think in moments —go the extra mile
The Peak
AFTER TWO YEARS had passed, Pharaoh had a dream.
When he slept again, he had a second dream. But no one knew the interpretations.
Then, the cupbearer remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh what had happened to him in prison.
The king sent for Joseph. They changed his clothes and shaved his beard.
When Joseph appeared before Pharaoh, he told the king that all interpretations belong to God.
Pharaoh told him the dreams, and he gave him the interpretations.
And the king said, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you."
(Genesis 37:39)
This moment of elevation was a defining one. God took him from the pit to the palace.
Pharaoh flipped Joseph's pit into a peak. He made him the second-in-command.
When his brothers came to Egypt, Joseph had the opportunity to share his elevation.
He remembered the flagship moments—the pits, the peaks and the transitions.
And he said, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (Genesis 50:20)
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
JOSEPH LIVED IN MOMENTS. He saw that whatever he did was part of a larger story.
Despite his situation, he never missed an opportunity to boost people's morale by creating moments to change their lives.
Many situations around us are ripe for investment. To do something, we must begin to think in moments.