Hurts that Heal

O.T.#115  "Hurts that Heal"
August 27, 2013
Genesis 50-Part 2
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.  Genesis 50:20

LET IT GLOW

Let bygones be bygones; the past should remain in the past; forgive and forget; sores fester if not attended to; these are only words of advise, but are they heeded very often? More times they are not, I would say. Neighbors, family members, friends remain unforgiving and unforgiven, never to be spoken to again throughout the years. Often the hurts are carried on to the next generation. How sad it is. How did Joseph's brothers deal with their meanness they had done 40 years earlier to Joseph?

How could they forget? It still weighed heavily on their minds. Perhaps every time they saw Joseph they remembered their harshness. Now that their father was dead and buried in Canaan, or now that Dad was out of the way, what would Joseph do to them? He had the power to have them killed. Would he take revenge, make them pay for their cruelty, the separation from his family, being in prison for years? They worried that Joseph would hate them. That was not the case.

The way Jerry Falwell put it, "They underestimated the genuineness of Joseph's character and affection. What they meant for evil, God had intended for good. This is one of the clearest declarations of divine providence anywhere in the Bible."

  It serves as an important reminder that while the evil of men may appear to be to the disadvantage of the saints, the purposes and plans of God will ultimately prevail. (Davis)

In case you just tuned in to our story, Joseph's brothers were jealous of his relationship with their father, so they sold Joseph as a slave to get rid of him. Joseph went through a lot of bad times during those 22 years, even being put into prison. However, the providence of God sent him to Egypt before his family needed food during the seven year famine. Joseph was put in charge of the food distribution, as he was second in command in such a mighty nation. Eventually, Joseph brought his family to live next to him and fed them.
You meant it for evil, God meant it for good. Something good will result from a tragedy, a misfortune, a bad thing, a change, if we just trust God to work it out for our good.

Romans 8:28 says, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Do I love God, trust God, leave it to God? What good can come from this painful experience? Ask God. He has a purpose for it.


LET IT GROW

His brothers were so fearful of Joseph that they sent a messenger to him instead of going themselves.
"Daddy said this before he died. He said for you to do to this. Remember what Dad said about this." I wonder if those were the real intent. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. They were desperate.
What was the message the messenger carried? "Forgive... Forgive..."
Forgive what? The trespass of thy brethren and their sin, for they did unto thee evil. Forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. Joseph was weeping when his brothers came in personally, bowed before him, and surrendered to Joseph as his servants. In verse 19, Joseph did not consider himself the one who should hold life and death of these men in his hands. That was God's prerogative.

Joseph's maturity shines through when he says in verse 20, But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive.

What experiences have taught me life lessons? Do I share them with others? With my children and grandchildren? How did God bring me through those trials, troubles, circumstances that were hard?
Do we have hurts that Jesus needs to heal? Are there people that we need to forgive today? Problems? Tell them to Jesus. He can heal our hurts.


LET IT GO

Forgive. Let it go to stay in the past.

Live in the now.

Let Jesus heal our hurts.