“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.” Genesis 50:18-21
Forgiveness
I can only imagine how Joseph felt when his brothers viciously betrayed him out of jealousy, cast him into a pit, pulled him from the pit and then sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Joseph was left by his family to fend for himself. But God had previously given him a vision, and Joseph persevered in the Lord, forgave his brothers, and succeeded as he only could with God the Father’s hand upon his life.
I have been betrayed by a family member. I wasn’t trafficked like Joseph or so many others have been and are, but that offense nevertheless hurt my spirit. I know as you do that forgiveness is the only answer in order to be cleansed by our loving Father.
Matthew 6:14-15 teaches us: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and forgive us from all unrighteousness.”
Thus, scripture teaches us that unforgiveness is a sin, so even when the person who has betrayed us does not ask for forgiveness, we must have forgiveness in our hearts. God wants to be able to communicate with His children, and sin forms a blockade. The dictionary defines blockade as an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving. So, unforgiveness blocks our conversation with God because our words and sinful thoughts form a division between us and our eternal Father. God is pure and He desires our purity.
How else can we evangelize those who have been offensive if we do not have communication with our Father? The great commission, which was the final command to the disciples by the resurrected Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:18-20, is: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen!
Father God, how I praise and adore You. I am so thankful for the guidance that You give us through Your eternal Word. I pray for forgiveness from all unrighteousness. In Your glorious name, Jesus. Amen.
Amen. Years ago I sent a letter with revelation the Lord had given me about why a situation happened with a family member as well as forgiving them for what they had done in that situation and asking if we could meet and clear the air.
I was told years later they burned that letter and we have never spoken of it again, but my forgiving them did not have to be received by them in order to restore relationship between me and God. Us forgiving has far more to do with us and our walk than it does with the other person.
To the person who wrote the first comment,
Thank you for sharing that incident with us as it is so helpful in visualizing what reaching out to forgive a person can look like. But even more helpful is the realization that forgiveness has even more to do with our having a right relationship with the LORD of Glory than it does with our fellow man. The Holy Spirit can help someone to forgive us or us to forgive them…it is up to the person whom the Holy Spirit gives the opportunity to forgive to decide to open their heart to that forgiveness.
This devo is so helpful for me! Thanks to the Sister who wrote it also!