Genesis 50:18-21 - Then
his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold,
we are your servants.” Joseph said to
them, “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.
The death of Jacob brought new thoughts of repercussions of
the wrong the brothers of Joseph had brought upon him. They began to doubt the
forgiveness and mercy their brother had already shown to them…sending
messengers with embellished words…supposedly from Jacob…to forgive them for
what they had done to him. The fear
gripped them so hard that they offered themselves as servants of Joseph.
Joseph simply told them not to be afraid…that he was not God. He repeated his words from before that God
had taken the evil deed they had meant for harm and used it to protect and care
for all of them in a time of famine. He
vowed to care for them and their children and comforted them. His forgiveness was a forever thing…not a
momentary thought.
I am guilty of asking for forgiveness…and then allowing
satan to use my thoughts of failure to rekindle my guilt. Satan wants to weaken our faith…to get us to stay
locked in the past…so God can’t use the lessons of character from our mistake
to make us stronger. If satan can keep us thinking about all the mistakes we
made…God has a harder time using those mistakes to bring about the good he
wants to come from them.
What a great reminder that forgiveness should be
forever. Jesus put no time restraints on
the mercy he gives us when we ask him to come into our heart. We should put no
time restraints on the forgiveness and mercy we show to others that have hurt
us. We should put no stipulations on the forgiveness we show to ourselves.
Father…thank you for the reminder that forgiveness is a
forever thing. Forgive me for the times
that I have turned things over to you …only to take them back as time and
events tricked me into thinking I never turned them over at all. Help me to feel the permanence of your mercy
and love…so that the forgiveness you give me feeds my faith with new energy and
passion. Help me to be more like Joseph…and
forgive completely….forever. Amen.
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