“When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, ‘Why are your faces downcast today?’” (Genesis 40:6-7 ESV)
Joseph’s suffering gave him eyes of compassion.
In the midst of the storm, do you read the faces of people around you the way Joseph did? Most people wear on their faces what is going on inside of them.
Do you look for friends, coworkers, people who serve you, or children in your life, and notice if their faces are downcast? It is a paradox: Self-preoccupation is actually self-defeating and produces loneliness.
Joseph expressed his heart to his fellow prisoners in a single question: “Why are your faces downcast today?”
Someone noticed them. Someone cared about their lives. Words can do this. Every word you speak boosts someone’s hope a bit, or kills it just a little…
Here’s a little test: During the stormy periods in your life, how often have you expressed genuine concern for others when you have had nothing to gain?
-- John Ortberg in “If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat”
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