“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
— Genesis 39:21 (NIV)
The Sting of the Status Drop
Back home, you were Somebody. You had a title. You had a staff. You had a specific parking spot. People called you “Sir” or “Ma.”
Here, you are just another resume in a pile.
Maybe you are an engineer driving an Uber. Maybe you are a banker stocking shelves. Maybe you are a senior manager back home, but here, you’re being managed by someone ten years younger than you who has half your experience.
The check your ego takes is brutal. You smile and do the work, but inside, a voice screams: “Do they know who I am? Do they know what I used to run?” You feel invisible, undervalued, and stripped of your dignity.
The Joseph Principle
If anyone understands the “Status Drop,” it is Joseph. He went from being the favoured son in a wealthy patriarchal home to a slave in Potiphar’s house, and then even lower – a prisoner in a dungeon.
Talk about being overqualified. He had the administrative mind to run an empire, yet he was sweeping floors in a jail cell.
But here is the key: His title changed, but his Anointing did not.
The Bible says, “The Lord was with Joseph.” God was with him in the pit just as much as He was with him in the palace. Joseph didn’t wait until he was Prime Minister to operate with excellence. He brought his “CEO Spirit” into the dungeon. He organized the prison. He served the other prisoners. He didn’t let his lowly position define his high capacity.
Your ID Card is Not Your Calling
Your current job is what you do to pay the bills; it is not who you are.
Do not let a “survival job” shrink your soul. You are not a “failed banker driving a taxi.” You are a Child of God, a person of excellence, currently deployed in the transportation sector.
Bring your full self to your small job. Be the most overqualified, excellent, grace-filled worker there. Not because the job deserves it, but because you carry a spirit of excellence that cannot be dimmed by a job title. Your promotion will come, but until then, steward the dungeon like a palace.
🛡️ The Diaspora Challenge
Action steps for your journey today.
- The Re-Frame: Catch yourself when you think, “I’m just a [current low job].” Correct it to: “I am a talented [your profession] currently working as a [current job] to provide for my family.”
- The Excellence Test: Identify one task you usually do begrudgingly because it’s “beneath you.” Do it today with absolute excellence, as if you were doing it for God.
- The Prayer: Pray for your young/inexperienced manager instead of resenting them.
🙏 A Prayer for Professional Dignity
Lord, my pride hurts. It is hard to start over at the bottom when I know I am capable of more. Help me to separate my identity from my job title. Remind me that, like Joseph, Your presence is with me right here. Give me the grace to serve with excellence in this season of waiting, knowing that You are the one who lifts up my head. Amen.
This is Day 13 of The Diaspora Devotional series by Andrew Airahuobhor. [Get the full Collection Here]