But Joseph was hard-headed for a good reason and steadfast, and he didn't even know why, even though it brought him much pain and ridicule as a child and throughout his adulthood until this day. Joseph joined the US Army at 17 and served for 10 years honorably. Broke his back twice in military service. God kept him from a war zone four times in those 10 years, and finally Joseph realized it was time to go as the Lord was leading him to the next chapter of understanding in his life. Joseph went through his first of two divorces shortly after leaving the military.

His pursuit of the Lord was one of the reasons for that divorce. His wife at the time could not understand, and many mistakes were made by Joseph as well. The devil was trying to trip him up to destroy him! To make him feel like he was no good, as he was told verbally and non-verbally throughout his lifetime thus far. Then, seeking love and the Lord, the devil duped him again, and he was married a second time. That relationship lasted a whole 6 months until his second wife said she didn't want to be married anymore; that was her third marriage. The devil was using people all around Joseph, and he didn't understand the wisdom he knew at that point, but it wasn't working the way he thought it should. At 30 years old, Joseph enrolled in a pastoral internship program and discovered what that feeling was deep down inside his spirit. Listening to a young pastor speaking about the first message that will be preached in their Pulpit from each individual that they may not even be able to get a word out because they will be weeping under the spirit of God and then something clicked in Joseph's mind and heart — oh that's what that is! Now I know! — From that point on, Joseph had the blinders taken off of what this gift was that was inside of him. It took 25 years for him to realize this, and he had to be in exactly the right place that the Lord told him to be at, and at exactly the right time to receive the revelation of this truth. From then on, the devil tempted Joseph in many different ways to go against what God implanted in him, to grieve the precious Holy Spirit, to compromise, and to be led away by the world and the many wrong roads. After Joseph's second divorce, he truly believed no one cared for him at all and would never love him. He felt just as he did as a child after his grandmother passed; he felt abandoned. So he became “Biker Joe,” hopped on his Harley-Davidson and hung out with his so-called friends. This was a tumultuous time in Joseph's life as he was still pursuing the word of God, going to church services up to four times a week — but still living in the world. Thank God he was saved and gave his life before this stage, lest he would have been lost. God would ask Joseph before he went out almost daily to go hang out with his so-called friends; “why is it that you want to go out?” And Joseph always answered honestly to the Lord; he said, “because I'm frustrated and I need to blow off steam, I need to have some fun. I need to forget about the things in my mind for a while.” As Joseph recalls, he was always honest with the Lord, and as long as he was, the Lord told him to go have a good time. He always protected Joseph, but God had a plan much greater than Joseph could ever have seen at that time, but the Lord knew. As Joseph learned more and more of the Lord, the Lord broke him, or at least it seemed he was just breaking the wrong pieces out of Joseph and rebuilding him for his God-given purpose.