I’ve been
reading about Joseph. You know, Jacob’s
son. As I was reading and thinking, God showed me that it was more than just a
story of a family from Bible times. As I
was reading, I was reminded that Joseph knew what it was like to be hated and
rejected by his brothers. Joseph faced
the same problem that many of us face today.
While most of us have not confronted the hatred of others to the point
that people want to kill us, we have all at one time or another dealt with
people who just don’t like us. They may
not kill us, but they make sure we are aware that they do not like us. When we see people who just hate us we can
take heart we are not the first one to ever be rejected. We are not facing a new thing. We are not facing something that others do
not or have not faced. What an awesome
reminder when I’m staring down the enemy!
When we face these trials, there is no need for a pity party, and we can
stand strong. The best thing about this
is his response. He has a chance to get
even with them and what did he do? Did
he get even? Make them suffer for how they treated him, correct? Nope, not even close, he forgave them. By that, I mean, he did not hold it against
them. There was no hatred for them in
him or for what they did. What exactly
DID they do? Well, they sold him into
slavery. They wanted to kill him, but
they decided they could gain more from selling him. How many of us respond like this when people
treat us bad? I would like to say I do,
but I don’t always. I am still letting
go of past hurts and learning to forgive without holding a grudge. Perhaps, someday I can forgive like Joseph
forgave.
