Today in our Facing the Giants series we will visit with Joseph. What a story he has to tell us!
LA: Welcome, Joseph. You look quite handsome in that coat of many colors. It sure has held together well over all these centuries.
Joseph: Thank you. This coat, coupled with my pride, sure did get me in a load of trouble.
LA: We all know the story of your brothers selling you into slavery in Egypt because of the visions you had concerning them and your father. It is hard to imagine someone being so cruel to a relative. How did that feel to you? What went through your mind?
Joseph: I was downright terrified. I had heard stories of the horrible treatment of slaves in Egypt, yet I never imagined I would become a slave. I was the favored son of Jacob; protected and sheltered, yet in a split second my life changed and I had no idea if I would live to see the light of the next day. All I wanted in those hours after I was sold was for things to return to normal.
LA: I think that is a very normal reaction when we are going through difficult times. We just want things to go back to the way they used to be.
Joseph: Yes. Little did I know that I would never again return to the land of my father. I would spend the remainder of my earthly life in Egypt. At first, I hated my brothers for doing that to me. I missed my father and mother and was angry at God for allowing it to happen.
LA: Understandable.
Joseph: I agree, but it would have been wrong for me to live the rest of my life in hatred and anger. One day after I had been in Egypt a while, I realized that I had to deal with the hatred or it would consume me. I knew that the God of my father had been faithful to my people and that He could redeem whatever He allowed to happen. I had to grow up, put on my big boy toga, and walk forward with God. I had what you, ma’am, call a ‘hinge’ moment.
LA: Ah, so you’ve done my Bible study?
Joseph: Oh yes, I’ve seen it. I like that hinge moment concept. A point in time where I realized I had to do something different than what I had been doing in order to obtain a different and better outcome. I had to forgive my brothers and ask God to use me right where He had me.
LA: And He did, didn’t He?
Joseph: God used me to save my family and my people from starvation. He used ME, a boy from Israel, to save an entire nation. That was pretty big, but you know the even bigger part of it?
LA: Do tell me.
Joseph: With a doubt, it was the change in my heart. I was able to feel love for my brothers and honestly say to them that what they intended for evil, God used for good. It took a lot of faith in Yahweh for me to trust that He would bring good out of my situation, but He did. Romans 8:28 is still in the Bible and is still true.
LA: Yes, it is Joseph. You have left us a legacy of forgiveness and trust in God, even in difficult times. Thank you for visiting with us.
MEDITATION MOMENT: Forgiving others when they hurt us or someone we love is difficult. We feel that we have the right to be offended, but Jesus says that if we fail to forgive others, then we are really telling God it is OK for Him not to forgive us.
Share a time that you had to choose, in faith, forgiveness toward another person OR when another person offered you forgiveness for something you had done.
