The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Thursday
January 31, 2008
Then Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied
him to his father's funeral. But now that their father was dead, Joseph's
brothers became afraid. "Now Joseph will pay us back for all the evil we did to
him," they said. So they sent this message to Joseph: "Before your father
died, he instructed us to say to you: 'Forgive your brothers for the great
evil they did to you.' So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to
forgive us." When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. Then
his brothers came and bowed low before him. "We are your slaves," they
said.
But Joseph told them, "Don't be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and
punish you? As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for
evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives
of many people. No, don't be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and
your families." And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.
Genesis
50:14-21
Forgiveness is one of the hardest issues any of us will ever face. For many years I honestly thought I was a very forgiving person. No matter what anyone did to me I simply ignored it and went on about my business. However, when a person's name would come up in the conversation with others the anger would come to the surface and I would push it back down. This is repression – not forgiveness.
Joseph had truly forgiven his brothers, but they thought he was just being nice to them for their father's sake. How many times are we nice to others for our Father's sake? How many times are we repressing rather than forgiving?
Apparently, Joseph was an above average guy. He didn't mind showing his emotions and he learned from the circumstances of his life. Unfortunately, not many of us have these attributes in the natural. As Christians, we are called to live in the supernatural. We are called to forgive our enemies. In fact, we are called to love them.
Once Joseph began operating in God's purpose for his life it was clear to him that, although the way his brothers treated him was painful, God had a bigger plan. Had his brothers not sold him Joseph would not have been in Egypt to interpret Pharaoh's dream and plan for the time of draught.
Are you at a point in your life where you can look back and see that the things you thought were bad in your life have actually turned out for the best? Can you see how God has used certain circumstances to actually bring honor and glory to Himself through you? Well, if you haven't, you can be assured He will.
Everything that I thought was horrible in my life has now been used to glorify God; from having a premature baby who grew up to be hearing-impaired to being publicly humiliated on the Oprah Winfrey Show. No wonder God gave me the name "Woes to Wows" for the ministry!
Father, You are perfect in all Your ways. Please forgive us when we are so burdened by the present circumstances that we forget You have a bigger plan. As we enter into the Easter season help us fix our eyes on Jesus and recognize that through it all the bad was turned to good.
