Joseph

In life we will encounter struggle and how we respond will become a testimony to the people around us. Tonight, I'm thinking about Joseph. Joseph experienced 3 major struggles that we know about: his brothers sold him into slavery, then he was thrown into prison falsely accused of seducing a powerful man's wife, and finally he was responsible for feeding an entire nation during a 7 year famine. At any point Joseph could have responded in anger, after all the situations were unfair, but instead he made the best of it and succeeded. We might not like our circumstances, but we should respond as children of God, maintaining a righteous life.

When struggle is upon us, our tendency as humans is to kick in our heels and complain how unfair it is. We throw our wait around and whine about the circumstances. As children we are taught that things should be made fair ("Share with your friends or siblings"), but the reality is life isn't fair. I could spend time thinking about how much better everything would be if life were fair, but it would be time wasted because I can't change how life works, only how I respond to it.  Accepting life isn't fair and that the situations we encounter won't necessarily be fair either will save us time.

Struggle is a part of life and it won't always be fair, but learning to withstand and live righteous lives will change how struggle affects us. Our ability to withstand is made possible by God's promise to work everything together for the good of those who love God. Struggle strengths our faith and builds endurance. Struggle is invaluable to our lives. Joseph knew this and endured all of his struggles without compromising his integrity. At the end of his struggles he was in a position of power, able to help others, and had grown wise enough to know the importance of forgiveness.

 

Joseph forgave his brothers, the very brothers who had sold him into slavery, and bestowed his wealth on him. If he had mistreated them, almost all would have understood, but he didn't. Instead he was merciful, forgiving, and kind to his brothers. Joseph's response is perfect, "Who am I? I am not God. You intended to do me harm, but God intended it for good." Vengeance belongs to God, the only one qualified to judge, and he is just. Further, the malicious actions and intentions of others can and are easily worked together for the good.

Forgiveness is hard. I spent the first 20 years of my life struggling to forgive. Then one day I decided I had carried the anger around long enough and I forgave the people who hurt me. Forgiveness benefited me the most and set my heart free. When I struggle to forgive someone I remember God, who is perfect, forgave me so how much more should I be willing to forgive others. Forgiveness isn't easy, but it is a choice you should make today.