Who appointed Yosef to be the ruler of Mitzrayim, Pharaoh or Hashem? Pharaoh said (41:41) ארץ כל על אתך נתתי ראה מצרים, "See that I have appointed you over the entire land of Mitzrayim." He wanted Yosef to think that he appointed him and raised him to this high rank.
Yosef, on the other hand, told his brothers (45:8) ארץ בכל ומשל ביתו לכל ולאדון לפרעה לאב וישימני מצרים, "[Hashem] made me a father to Pharaoh, a lord over his household, and a ruler over the entire land of Mitzrayim." Yosef recognized that his honor and power came from Hashem, not Pharaoh.
Who freed Yosef from prison, Pharaoh or Hashem? Yosef knew that only Hashem could free him from jail, and Pharaoh had no say in the matter. We will prove this from two sources:
1) It states (41:14), הבור מן ויריצהו, "They rushed [Yosef] from the dungeon." The Rebbe of Ostrova zt'l (Toldos Adam, Chanukah, 7th night) writes: "Let's think about this. Yosef was in prison for so long, unable to see the sunshine for years. There were no breaks or off-days. After twelve years, there finally seemed to be hope. He could speak to Pharoah and plead for his case! Why would they need to rush Yosef out of the dungeon? We would assume that Yosef would run with all his might to speak to Pharaoh and plead for his life. But it states, הבור מן ויריצהו, Pharaoh's messengers rushed Yosef out of prison. This is because Yosef HaTzaddik believed and understood that everything is from Hashem. His freedom was from Hashem. It wouldn’t happen a moment earlier or later than was planned Above. So, why rush for no reason?"
2) When Yosef stood before Pharaoh to decipher his dream, we would assume that Yosef would plead his case and say, "I was imprisoned for no reason... Please free me from jail..." But he didn't speak about his imprisonment. This is because he knew that only Hashem, not Pharaoh, could save him from jail.
Yaakov sent his children down to Mitzrayim with a gift for the ruler of Mitzrayim. (43:11) והורידו בכליכם הארץ מזמרת קחו ושקדים בטנים ולט נכאת דבש ומעט צרי מעט מנחה לאיש
“Take in your baskets from the land’s harvest and bring a present to the man. A drop of balsam, a bit of honey, wax, almonds," etc. Notice that Yaakov sent “a drop of balsam, a bit of honey.” Shouldn’t he have sent a more significant gift to the mighty ruler of Egypt?
The answer is that Yaakov Avinu knew that, ultimately, only Hashem could help. He needed to do hishtadlus, and he knew that minimal hishtadlus was sufficient.
