As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[a] should be kept alive, as they are today
Genesis 50:20
Today’s verse of focus comes from the popular story of Joseph in the Bible. The young boy, who was hated by his brothers because of his dreams, was therefore sold as a slave to a foreign land.
Whenever I think about Joseph’s story, I always try to imagine how I would have felt if I were Joseph. Let’s examine the facts: this young boy was sold as a slave to an Egyptian merchant only as a last resort. The initial plan of his brothers was to kill him. Interestingly, Joseph wasn’t ignorant of this conspiracy. When he was apprehended and dumped into a pit, he probably could hear his brothers debating the different options to make his death as quick and painless as possible. He didn’t hear anything like mercy in their voices that day, only desperation.
The trauma Joseph must have experienced even after being kept alive and sold into slavery must have been horrible; something he would never forget in his lifetime, coming close to death from the hands of the people he trusted the most. It would be understandable if this young man trusted no one else in his lifetime. Worse still, he could have chosen the path of vengeance. Yet, many years later, when he saw his brothers, his response was different.
Through the years of Joseph’s slavery, God was able to help him see things differently. He came to understand that although his brothers intended all they did for evil, it was God’s plan to keep many people alive. This understanding is what restrained Joseph from seeking vengeance, even though he now had all the reasons and resources to do so.
The truth of the matter is that forgiveness is hard. When people we love turn against us, it’s not easy. It takes the grace of God to be able to forgive. But whenever we think like Joseph, that although men may intend evil, God is watching and he is constantly finding a way to bring us out better, we can see men not as our enemies, but as the stepping stones we must climb to reach the fullness of all that God has for us.
PRAYER
Thank you for your grace that you make available in the face of adversity. Please Lord, help me to forgive everyone that hurt me in any way and to trust you to fight for me always.
