Actress Danica McKellar, most famous for her role as Winnie Cooper on “The Wonder Years,” recently became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ thanks to her close friend, fellow actress and believer, Candace Cameron Bure. And now, with Bure’s help, she’s growing in her own walk with the Lord and is helping others to find their faith and to stay grounded in it as well.
You have to love a story like this. The world of Hollywood is so full of darkness, sin, and deplorable behavior that it can give you an unholy case of the ick to just turn on your television for a little entertainment. Stuff being produced today is full of sex, homosexuality, and all sorts of progressive agenda pushing. Thankfully, there are those in the industry like Bure and McKellar — among many others — are helping to change all that.
According to The Christian Tribune, “Recently she did so by appearing on Great American Community and speaking about the tale of Joseph from Genesis, saying that it helps her find joy in everything, particularly when she remembers the suffering that Joseph went through and how she imagines him performing his daily tasks, however terrible, with joy, and that joy leading to his advancement.”
Speaking about Joseph, she told Great American Community, “One of the [Old Testament] stories that stuck with me most is from Genesis, and that’s Joseph’s story. What really struck me about Joseph’s story is that he says God was with him during these times, when he was sold into slavery and when he was thrown into prison and all this stuff.”
Continuing, she explained how Joseph roset through the ranks despite starting in a terrible spot, saying, “Wherever Joseph was, he rose to the top because people recognized, well, this guy is kind of special. You know, let’s put him in charge of more things. He was the favorite prisoner. He was the favorite slave, and then he got more power and position because of that.”
McKellar then pointed out that she sees Joseph’s confidence in the Lord and in His plan for his life in how he always applied himself 100 percent to the jobs he was given to do and did his work without complaint. I know I fail at that pretty hard myself. With an attitude pointed inward, it’s easy to find something to complain about. However, if you understand the work you do, you do on behalf of God, your Creator and your Savior, well, that changes things. The King of Kings has given you a task to do, a mission that helps Him govern the world. There’s much honor in that, no matter how menial the job might feel.
“It’s like if you had to mop the floors, he’s doing the best job he could do because he was with God. God was with him. He felt it,” the actress said. “And this idea that no matter what we’re doing, we could do it with true joy if we are connected to our relationship with God is incredible. Doing the dishes, whatever it is. You know, my dad found spirituality, his faith, his relationship with Jesus about 20, 25 years ago, and I remember him telling me about it at the time, and he was actually, he had some kind of difficult times financially.”
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After explaining how her father decided to face his problems with joy and managed to move past them, she returned to explaining how Joseph should be a lesson to us all, saying, “No matter what he was doing, he rose to the top. And at the end, being in the almost highest position in Egypt. And [he] was able to save so many people from famine. What a beautiful lesson for us all.” She added, “So, I hope that this has inspired you to truly feel and find the joy in the tiniest of little tasks that we do every day. And then I hope that brings you closer to God as well.”
Joseph’s story is packed full of great lessons we can and should learn as part of our walk with Christ. In fact, it’s an inexhaustible well of spiritual nourishment for those who are willing to study it and read it often. So is the rest of the Old Testament. In fact, that’s one of the many purposes for the OT being part of the canon of Christian Scripture.
Let’s hope McKellar continues to grow in her faith and develop even more boldness to share it with others.