FORGIVE – IT’S ALL IN THE PLAN
- DAY 142
- FAITH FILE: JOSEPH
- SCRIPTURES: GENESIS 45:4-8
And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
If you meet the person who did the worst evil to you, how would you treat them? Let’s say you met your abuser, that boss that fired you for no reason, that husband that walked away, that baby daddy that left you broke and pregnant or that father that left you and your siblings, what would you do? Before I started writing this devotional I would have said something like, “I will NEVER forgive them. I will show them pepper.” But hey, I know better now.
God orchestrates the life of a man of faith. God has mapped out every single detail and every single part. And the amazing thing is, He includes the hurts you went through. Joseph knew this that’s why he said
“Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. -Genesis 50:19-21
Joseph couldn’t blame a man for the workings of God in his life. Man cannot take that glory. When they sold him it was out of Jealousy but it was all in God’s plan. God used their jealousy to the favor of Joseph and to the fulfillment of His plan. Just as God used your hurt to build you for the life He prepared for you. So let it go. They meant it for evil but it was all in the plan.
Forgiveness is so important and it takes faith to forgive. If you hold grudges, you poison your heart and your life. So check your heart again, who do you need to forgive? Now ask God to help you forgive them.
Shalom
