Power of Forgiveness

I so appreciate the story of Joseph. It tells of God’s love and provision. In this story, we see that Joseph’s father had given him a coat of many colors. His step brothers were jealous of him. Genesis 37:4 (ESV) says, “But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.”

Jealousy is the fruit of a bitter and unforgiving heart. In their hatred, the brothers sought to kill Joseph. Yet in their greed they sold him to some traders that were passing by.

God used Joseph’s hard trials to develop his character. They each prepared him to fulfill a future assignment. Before God sent a famine throughout the world, he placed Joseph as second in command over Egypt. Though he had the power to imprison his brothers for life, his compassionate heart reached out to them in kindness.

What a contrast. Though Scripture does not give any details about Joseph’s anguish, it is revealed in Genesis 42:21 (NKJV). The brothers were talking. It says, “…We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear…”

While the brothers carried the heavy burden of guilt, Joseph fully experienced the power of forgiveness. In the beginning, his brothers could not speak peacefully to him. In the end, Joseph closed out the story by speaking kindly to them.

I encourage you to check your own heart. Is there anyone you cannot speak kindly to? Are you still carrying a burden of guilt and shame for the way you treated someone in the past?

Father, I am so grateful for your forgiveness of all my sins. You have chosen to not ever bring them up to me again. They are as far from me as the east is from the west. Thank you for giving me the gift of forgiveness, that I might extend it to others.

Throughout this day: How can you show forgiveness today, as Joseph did?