July 27, 2022 - Genesis 50:19-21

“But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” Genesis 50:19-21 NIV

Lord, this part of Joseph’s story is so inspiring. When we look at his story and all he faced, – being betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongly accused, put in prison, and more – it is only through you that he was able to forgive. In this verse, you see no sign of unforgiveness or bitterness. His brothers didn’t deserve the response that they received. Most any human would have said that Joseph would have had a right to hate his brothers and send them away empty handed or worse. Yet, Joseph didn’t live his life by human standards, but by your standards. He walked in forgiveness and offered them help with no sign of hatred. We see you had already had him walk out a journey of forgiveness. He had no reason to believe that he would ever see his family again, yet you had prepared him for that day.

Lord, we want to walk in your ways and forgive the people who have mistreated us. Help us learn to forgive even those people who have done the most awful things and completely deserve punishment. We know that holding on to unforgiveness doesn’t typically hurt them. On the contrary, it does punish us and turn us bitter. Open our eyes to any place that we need to offer forgiveness or any place that we are harboring bitterness. Forgive us for not forgiving as you have asked. Work in us and change our hearts so that like Joseph, we can offer love, kindness, and grace if we encounter those people again. We want to honor you in every part of our lives and unforgiveness doesn’t bring honor to you. Change our hearts where needed.

In Jesus name, amen.