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Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob, and the first son of Rachel. He is often referred to as a miracle child since Rachel had trouble conceiving. As such, he was favored by his father which contributed to jealousy from his brothers. Joseph also showed a prophetic gift with his dreams, was given a special coat (or tunic), and was known to tell on his brothers' bad behavior.
Eventually, the brothers grew fed up with him and plotted to kill him. While his eldest brother, Reuben, only wanted to give him a bit of a scare, the other brothers got serious about teaching him a lesson and sold him into slavery while Reuben was gone.
Joseph ended up in Egypt as a slave in the house of Potiphar. He was granted favor by God and favored by Potiphar during his tenure there. Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce Joseph and when he refused her advances, she cried rape. Due to her false accusations, Joseph was thrown in prison. While in prison, Joseph proves that he can interpret dreams; this gift comes in handy when Pharaoh needs a dream interpreted two years later. After successfully interpretting Pharaoh's dream, Joseph is made the second most powerful man in Egypt. He leads them in preparation for a great famine which ends up saving his family as well. During the famine, his brothers come to Egypt for food. Joseph tests the men before eventually reuniting the family in Egypt.
We know that Joseph prospered in Egypt and that he gave glory to YHWH when he interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, but does that mean he never complained or felt down in the dumps about his situation?
In modern literature, Joseph's story which spans only a few chapters in one book of the Bible, could have been it's own novel. In fact it could have been a triology! I can see it now:
It's a whole epic trilogy, but the Bible only gives us the Cliff's Notes version, so we don't know Joseph's thought process from beginning to end.
I find it hard to believe that he kept a sunny disposition the entire time he was in Egypt. He must have been angry at his brothers at some point. Even more so, despite their strained relationship, it's possible that he looked up to his older brothers before being sold off. From a pyschological viewpoint, their rejection and betrayal had to have some effect on him. When you factor in the fact that Potiphar turned on him at the behest of his wife and the cupbearer initially forgot about him after regaining his freedom, I imagine Joseph had major trust issues.
While we may never know how low Joseph's lowest moment were or how these betrayals affected him, it's important to think about for two reasons. First, our actions to those around us have consequences. Framing the story of Joseph around how the betrayal may have harmed Joseph psychologically instead of always thinking about the success he was rewarded with, can help us be more careful about how we treat others. Instead of thinking our treatment of others doesn't matter because ultimately God will make up for it, we are forced to think about what the person loses because of us.
Second, it gives us freedom and wiggle room in our own struggles. When we are in our lows, we may feel pressure to handle every situation perfectly. However, many Biblical characters experienced depression and mental health issues due to the situations they were in. It doesn't mean we have less faith or that we've failed if we feel angry at people who wrong us or sad when we end up in what feel like hopeless situations. The true testament of our faith is that we don't stay angry and sad but that with the help of the Father, we find our way back to peace.