This Is Not Me

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 14, This Is Not Me.

"Joseph answered Pharaoh, 'It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.'" Genesis 41:16.

Picture how fast this turn happened. Just hours earlier, Joseph was in an Egyptian dungeon, one more forgotten name on a list of prisoners. And suddenly he is rushed out, shaved, dressed in new clothes, and set before the most powerful man in the known world. Pharaoh looks at him and says, "I have heard that you can interpret dreams."

This was the moment. The perfect stage. Joseph could have used that question to sell himself, to prove his worth, to secure his position with a brilliant speech about his own talent. No one would have blamed him — he was literally fighting for his life.

But notice the exact order of the words he chooses. First comes the denial: "it is not in me." Only after that comes God's name. Joseph doesn't open by exalting God like someone reciting a rehearsed answer. He opens by denying himself. And only after that honest denial does he point upward: "God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."

That order matters. Because true humility always starts by acknowledging what we are not, before declaring where what we have actually came from.

And that answer wasn't born in that moment by accident. It was forged long before. In the pit his own brothers threw him into. In Potiphar's house, where he served with integrity even as a slave, resisting temptation even when no one was watching. In prison, where he spent years forgotten by everyone — except God. It was there, in the dark, with no one applauding, that Joseph slowly learned to depend on God rather than himself. By the time the crisis arrived in front of the throne, the habit was already formed.

And look at what happened: it wasn't the skill of interpreting dreams that opened the palace door for Joseph. It was the honesty. Pharaoh was impressed by the character before he ever heard the interpretation. The favor followed the truth — it didn't come before it.

Now think about yourself, my friend. Today, someone will probably praise something you did — good work, the right word at the right time, a wise decision. And the temptation to simply take the credit and move on will be right there, small, almost invisible. I'm not asking you to pretend you have no talent. I'm asking you to remember where it came from.

So here is today's invitation: the next time someone praises you, before you accept the compliment in full, say out loud — not just in your thoughts: "It is not in me. God has been good." Let that sentence leave your mouth the way it left Joseph's. It will train your heart to always remember who the source is.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.