Scripture: Genesis 50:15-21
Listen link: https://www.lcepc.org/Sermons
We know the story of Joseph. We’re well acquainted with how Joseph expressed his forgiveness toward his brothers. Joseph is like Jesus, he forgave his brothers and saved them from suffering and death! But we tend to over simplify the process of forgiveness. It is so much harder than the cliché we like to think of, just forgive and forget. There are details in Joseph’s story that shed more light on what is really involved in forgiveness. Let’s talk about that.
Life can be hard. Just about all of us endure difficult circumstances from time to time. One perspective is to take note that, at every point in life, you’re either in a storm, or else it has just passed, and you are in a time of relief and refreshment, or else that another storm is on the way and preparation is necessary, just like real weather.
In connection with that reality, I heard somebody say once that his favorite verse in the Bible is, “It came to pass.” That’s King James English for, “That just happened.” But it also means more. It says that everything in life comes, to pass. It’s temporary. No matter how difficult it is, it came, yes, but it came to pass. It will be over one day. And what Paul says about that in 2 Corinthians 4:17 is, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
That eternal glory, that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, is the only thing that will never pass away. Once we attain that, it is permanent! Hallelujah! But until then, the Bible helps us to prepare for and handle the difficulties brought by the storms of life.
But what about when those difficult circumstances are caused by people, people who didn’t just innocently step on our toes, or cause a misunderstanding, but people who really meant to harm you? That’s the worst. And it is the most difficult thing to forgive. That’s what Joseph was dealing with. This story is about the process of healing and maturing that Joseph went through, and acted on, in order to forgive his brothers.
I think what Joseph learned can be summed up in three words, Perspective, Patience, and Peace. What was Joseph’s perspective on life, and how did he develop that? Joseph possessed a deep faith in God's sovereignty! Joseph was a man of good character, great character! He maintained his faith in God in spite of great difficulties and challenges. And he did it without all the advantages that we have, of the complete canon of Scripture, proverbial and prophetic announcements that literally instruct us to "trust God no matter what." We also have the story of Jesus our redeemer, and the gospel that gives us great hope, plus the ongoing history of the church and a longer record of all that God has done in history, including the story of Joseph! Joseph didn't get to read the ending of his own story in order to get a lesson in trusting God. He lived it for us!
All Joseph had was the stories he learned as a child. He learned them from Jacob/Israel and from Isaac. They must have told him about Abraham and his adventures. I know I would sure be interested in how Isaac told the story of the day that his father took him up a mountain and laid him out on the altar, to be the sacrifice, just before God himself provided the ram in the thicket to take Isaac’s place.
Jacob must have told the story of seeing the angels going up and down the stairway to heaven, and what God said to him there. He would have told about how God blessed him even though Uncle Laban tried to cheat him and changed his wages ten times. Then there’s the one about wrestling with an angel to explain why Jacob always walked with a limp. These were not Bible stories to them. They were family history! This was so real. Not just something to read in a book.
But still, of all the 12 brothers, Joseph seems to be the only one in the bunch who took those lessons to heart and lived out of complete trust in God. And God blessed him. Well, in a way, or maybe we should say, in the long run. Joseph knew that Jacob had dreams in which God spoke to him. So, when Joseph had a vivid dream, of course he shared it. It must have been exciting for Joseph to realize that God was speaking to him!
Then Joseph’s life took a turn for the worse. His hateful brothers sold him into slavery. He managed to make the best of it. Then Potiphar’s wife framed him with a crime he did not commit, and he was sent to prison. Even there, he seems to have made the best of bad situation.
At this point, I showed a video clip from Joseph King of Dreams, the song called, “You Know Better than I.” You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3LndEB-Drc
Of course, Joseph didn’t do that all by himself. Gen. 39:5 says, “From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.” And apparently Joseph knew that it was God blessing him! He maintained his integrity for the sake of God’s honor. That’s why he ran away from Potiphar’s wife.
In the prison too, Gen 39:23 says, “The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” Joseph maintained a faith in God and probably grew in that faith as God proved to be faithful over and over again. At every bad turn in Joseph’s life, God supported him. And Joseph leaned on him with this perspective of God’s concern and sovereign power.
The perspective we are talking about is clearly summed up in Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he says, in 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Joseph must have developed a faith in that concept centuries before Paul said it that way. Joseph’s perspective must have been based on what he knew of and believed about God’s Covenantal promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
From that perspective, it is possible to be patient, even if God takes a long time to act on his promises of blessing. Joseph seems to have had that patience. He languished in the prison for another two whole years after the amazing interpretations of the dreams of Pharaoh’s servants. Why in the world did God make Joseph wait two more years before he sent the famine Pharaoh dreamed about? God controls the weather. God sent the dreams. God decided that Joseph still needed two more years in prison! Surely, that report about Joseph’s ability, coupled with his good reputation as a model prisoner, should have impressed Pharaoh. But Pharaoh never heard it. The wine steward forgot about Joseph!
But God did not. Joseph must have needed another two years in the prison for something. Perhaps he was learning more management skills, that would be needed during the famine. Perhaps God was polishing Joseph’s humility, so that godly character would shine when Pharaoh needed his assistance. James might have been thinking about Joseph when he wrote, in James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Or maybe Paul was thinking of Joseph when he wrote, Romans 5:3-4, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
But Joseph wasn’t aware of Paul or James. He just lived by faith, and showed us how it’s done! Then his brothers showed up! What would Joseph do? He knew them, but they didn’t recognize him. Romans 12:18-21 says; “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Now Joseph lived many years before the quoted psalm was written and even more “many years” before Paul wrote down this moral instruction about how to deal with people who have harmed you. So why didn’t Joseph just go and grab his brothers and tell them as soon as he saw them, “Hey guys! It’s me! Things turned out pretty well here so, I forgive you!”
Well, here’s something to think about. It had been at least seventeen years since Joseph had seen his brothers. He had no idea whether God had formed character in them in the same way that God had shaped Joseph. Joseph must have decided that he should capitalize on the situation and use the circumstances to test his brothers’ character.
Even if Joseph wanted to forgive his brothers, I believe it was wise of Joseph to find out whether his brothers had grown up enough that they wouldn’t ever mistreat him again, or find out that he would still have to keep his distance to be safe from them. We don’t all get a chance to do that in such a dramatic way with people who have hurt us. But the need to be cautious is important to understand.
The story shows how he tested them for their ability to be sorry and repent of their sins. We see how he set things up to test whether they would be willing to betray another brother to save their own skins. And they show that they have grown at least enough to never want to do that again. They expressed remorse about what they had done to Joseph and showed that the guilt of that had been plaguing them the whole time. They explained what was happening to them as God finally executing just punishment upon them. So, they truly were sorry, and Joseph's offer of forgiveness would not be wasted on people who didn't care.
But if he didn't have a forgiving heart, Joseph could have worked things out so that only Jacob, his remaining wives and Benjamin, were allowed to enter Egypt to survive the famine. Joseph could have banished his evil brothers, and Jacob might have gone along with it once he found out how they themselves had bereaved him of years with Joseph and let him think that Joseph was dead. I believe Jacob also was called upon to forgive his sons!
So, I think we also see that Joseph lived out this teaching in Galatians 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
But it wasn’t just forgive and forget. We see that God allowed Joseph a lot of time for healing, and that enabled Joseph to act with wisdom rather than rashly out of anger. We see that Joseph moved with caution to make sure that genuine reconciliation might really be possible. But Joseph never forgot what his brothers did to him, or what they meant by it. He just decided not to hold it against them. That’s forgiveness. Joseph had learned to be at peace with his circumstances and to be patient with God as he trusted God’s sovereignty to work all things out well.
Now what about us? Are we victims of gross injustice as Joseph was? Some of us may very well be! How do we handle that kind of suffering? Only Jesus can grant us the power to forgive, after we understand how much he paid to forgive us. This reminds me of Corrie Ten Boom, a prisoner of war in a German concentration camp because she helped to hide the Jews from the Nazis.
In her words: It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my favorite mental picture. “When we confess our sins,” I said, “God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever.” (And he puts up a sign that says, “No Fishing!”)
The solemn faces stared back at me, not quite daring to believe. And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.
It came back with a rush: …this man had been a guard at Ravensbrück concentration camp where we were sent. Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: “A fine message, fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”
And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course–how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women? But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. It was the first time since my release that I had been face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.
“You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk. I was a guard in there. But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein”–again the hand came out–“will you forgive me?”
And I stood there–I whose sins had every day to be forgiven–and could not. Betsie had died in that place–could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
For I had to do it–I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,” Jesus says, “neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience.
And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion–I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. “Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.”
And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” [i]
That’s not easy. And we can’t demand it instantly from any victim of abuse. But in God’s grace and timing, it is possible. And it is a beautiful thing to witness, or to experience!
But what of the rest of us, who have not been victimized, and have lived an easier life of sorts, like Joseph’s brothers, who though guilty of great sin, remained free to pursue their own interests? Might not each one of us, see ourselves more like Joseph's brothers and less like Joseph? Let us give thanks to the God who provided for our future, even though we deserved to die! Joseph went unwillingly to save his brothers, but ended up understanding and accepting his role in the plan of redemption. Jesus knew ahead of time what it would cost him in suffering, and willingly chose his role in the plan of redemption because he loves us that much! He loves you that much!
Dear Lord, Jesus is our brother, who went ahead of us into the pit of hell to deal with death and provide for us a rescue we do not deserve! You loved us first, through the loving kindness and forgiving heart of Jesus. Thank you for that! We love you for that. We repent of our sins that made us worthy of condemnation. Help us Lord to so perceive all our circumstances, both good and evil, as being used in your divine sovereignty to advance your plan of redemption. May we be found to be in cooperation with you, through obedience, and not just being used in spite of ourselves. We now seek to grow into the integrity of Joseph, the character of Christ, and the forgiving heart of God! In Jesus' name, amen.
Listen link: https://www.lcepc.org/Sermons
We know the story of Joseph. We’re well acquainted with how Joseph expressed his forgiveness toward his brothers. Joseph is like Jesus, he forgave his brothers and saved them from suffering and death! But we tend to over simplify the process of forgiveness. It is so much harder than the cliché we like to think of, just forgive and forget. There are details in Joseph’s story that shed more light on what is really involved in forgiveness. Let’s talk about that.
Life can be hard. Just about all of us endure difficult circumstances from time to time. One perspective is to take note that, at every point in life, you’re either in a storm, or else it has just passed, and you are in a time of relief and refreshment, or else that another storm is on the way and preparation is necessary, just like real weather.
In connection with that reality, I heard somebody say once that his favorite verse in the Bible is, “It came to pass.” That’s King James English for, “That just happened.” But it also means more. It says that everything in life comes, to pass. It’s temporary. No matter how difficult it is, it came, yes, but it came to pass. It will be over one day. And what Paul says about that in 2 Corinthians 4:17 is, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
That eternal glory, that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, is the only thing that will never pass away. Once we attain that, it is permanent! Hallelujah! But until then, the Bible helps us to prepare for and handle the difficulties brought by the storms of life.
But what about when those difficult circumstances are caused by people, people who didn’t just innocently step on our toes, or cause a misunderstanding, but people who really meant to harm you? That’s the worst. And it is the most difficult thing to forgive. That’s what Joseph was dealing with. This story is about the process of healing and maturing that Joseph went through, and acted on, in order to forgive his brothers.
I think what Joseph learned can be summed up in three words, Perspective, Patience, and Peace. What was Joseph’s perspective on life, and how did he develop that? Joseph possessed a deep faith in God's sovereignty! Joseph was a man of good character, great character! He maintained his faith in God in spite of great difficulties and challenges. And he did it without all the advantages that we have, of the complete canon of Scripture, proverbial and prophetic announcements that literally instruct us to "trust God no matter what." We also have the story of Jesus our redeemer, and the gospel that gives us great hope, plus the ongoing history of the church and a longer record of all that God has done in history, including the story of Joseph! Joseph didn't get to read the ending of his own story in order to get a lesson in trusting God. He lived it for us!
All Joseph had was the stories he learned as a child. He learned them from Jacob/Israel and from Isaac. They must have told him about Abraham and his adventures. I know I would sure be interested in how Isaac told the story of the day that his father took him up a mountain and laid him out on the altar, to be the sacrifice, just before God himself provided the ram in the thicket to take Isaac’s place.
Jacob must have told the story of seeing the angels going up and down the stairway to heaven, and what God said to him there. He would have told about how God blessed him even though Uncle Laban tried to cheat him and changed his wages ten times. Then there’s the one about wrestling with an angel to explain why Jacob always walked with a limp. These were not Bible stories to them. They were family history! This was so real. Not just something to read in a book.
But still, of all the 12 brothers, Joseph seems to be the only one in the bunch who took those lessons to heart and lived out of complete trust in God. And God blessed him. Well, in a way, or maybe we should say, in the long run. Joseph knew that Jacob had dreams in which God spoke to him. So, when Joseph had a vivid dream, of course he shared it. It must have been exciting for Joseph to realize that God was speaking to him!
Then Joseph’s life took a turn for the worse. His hateful brothers sold him into slavery. He managed to make the best of it. Then Potiphar’s wife framed him with a crime he did not commit, and he was sent to prison. Even there, he seems to have made the best of bad situation.
At this point, I showed a video clip from Joseph King of Dreams, the song called, “You Know Better than I.” You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3LndEB-Drc
Of course, Joseph didn’t do that all by himself. Gen. 39:5 says, “From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.” And apparently Joseph knew that it was God blessing him! He maintained his integrity for the sake of God’s honor. That’s why he ran away from Potiphar’s wife.
In the prison too, Gen 39:23 says, “The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” Joseph maintained a faith in God and probably grew in that faith as God proved to be faithful over and over again. At every bad turn in Joseph’s life, God supported him. And Joseph leaned on him with this perspective of God’s concern and sovereign power.
The perspective we are talking about is clearly summed up in Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he says, in 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Joseph must have developed a faith in that concept centuries before Paul said it that way. Joseph’s perspective must have been based on what he knew of and believed about God’s Covenantal promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
From that perspective, it is possible to be patient, even if God takes a long time to act on his promises of blessing. Joseph seems to have had that patience. He languished in the prison for another two whole years after the amazing interpretations of the dreams of Pharaoh’s servants. Why in the world did God make Joseph wait two more years before he sent the famine Pharaoh dreamed about? God controls the weather. God sent the dreams. God decided that Joseph still needed two more years in prison! Surely, that report about Joseph’s ability, coupled with his good reputation as a model prisoner, should have impressed Pharaoh. But Pharaoh never heard it. The wine steward forgot about Joseph!
But God did not. Joseph must have needed another two years in the prison for something. Perhaps he was learning more management skills, that would be needed during the famine. Perhaps God was polishing Joseph’s humility, so that godly character would shine when Pharaoh needed his assistance. James might have been thinking about Joseph when he wrote, in James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Or maybe Paul was thinking of Joseph when he wrote, Romans 5:3-4, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
But Joseph wasn’t aware of Paul or James. He just lived by faith, and showed us how it’s done! Then his brothers showed up! What would Joseph do? He knew them, but they didn’t recognize him. Romans 12:18-21 says; “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Now Joseph lived many years before the quoted psalm was written and even more “many years” before Paul wrote down this moral instruction about how to deal with people who have harmed you. So why didn’t Joseph just go and grab his brothers and tell them as soon as he saw them, “Hey guys! It’s me! Things turned out pretty well here so, I forgive you!”
Well, here’s something to think about. It had been at least seventeen years since Joseph had seen his brothers. He had no idea whether God had formed character in them in the same way that God had shaped Joseph. Joseph must have decided that he should capitalize on the situation and use the circumstances to test his brothers’ character.
Even if Joseph wanted to forgive his brothers, I believe it was wise of Joseph to find out whether his brothers had grown up enough that they wouldn’t ever mistreat him again, or find out that he would still have to keep his distance to be safe from them. We don’t all get a chance to do that in such a dramatic way with people who have hurt us. But the need to be cautious is important to understand.
The story shows how he tested them for their ability to be sorry and repent of their sins. We see how he set things up to test whether they would be willing to betray another brother to save their own skins. And they show that they have grown at least enough to never want to do that again. They expressed remorse about what they had done to Joseph and showed that the guilt of that had been plaguing them the whole time. They explained what was happening to them as God finally executing just punishment upon them. So, they truly were sorry, and Joseph's offer of forgiveness would not be wasted on people who didn't care.
But if he didn't have a forgiving heart, Joseph could have worked things out so that only Jacob, his remaining wives and Benjamin, were allowed to enter Egypt to survive the famine. Joseph could have banished his evil brothers, and Jacob might have gone along with it once he found out how they themselves had bereaved him of years with Joseph and let him think that Joseph was dead. I believe Jacob also was called upon to forgive his sons!
So, I think we also see that Joseph lived out this teaching in Galatians 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
But it wasn’t just forgive and forget. We see that God allowed Joseph a lot of time for healing, and that enabled Joseph to act with wisdom rather than rashly out of anger. We see that Joseph moved with caution to make sure that genuine reconciliation might really be possible. But Joseph never forgot what his brothers did to him, or what they meant by it. He just decided not to hold it against them. That’s forgiveness. Joseph had learned to be at peace with his circumstances and to be patient with God as he trusted God’s sovereignty to work all things out well.
Now what about us? Are we victims of gross injustice as Joseph was? Some of us may very well be! How do we handle that kind of suffering? Only Jesus can grant us the power to forgive, after we understand how much he paid to forgive us. This reminds me of Corrie Ten Boom, a prisoner of war in a German concentration camp because she helped to hide the Jews from the Nazis.
In her words: It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my favorite mental picture. “When we confess our sins,” I said, “God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever.” (And he puts up a sign that says, “No Fishing!”)
The solemn faces stared back at me, not quite daring to believe. And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.
It came back with a rush: …this man had been a guard at Ravensbrück concentration camp where we were sent. Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: “A fine message, fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”
And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course–how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women? But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. It was the first time since my release that I had been face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.
“You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk. I was a guard in there. But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein”–again the hand came out–“will you forgive me?”
And I stood there–I whose sins had every day to be forgiven–and could not. Betsie had died in that place–could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
For I had to do it–I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,” Jesus says, “neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience.
And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion–I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. “Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.”
And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” [i]
That’s not easy. And we can’t demand it instantly from any victim of abuse. But in God’s grace and timing, it is possible. And it is a beautiful thing to witness, or to experience!
But what of the rest of us, who have not been victimized, and have lived an easier life of sorts, like Joseph’s brothers, who though guilty of great sin, remained free to pursue their own interests? Might not each one of us, see ourselves more like Joseph's brothers and less like Joseph? Let us give thanks to the God who provided for our future, even though we deserved to die! Joseph went unwillingly to save his brothers, but ended up understanding and accepting his role in the plan of redemption. Jesus knew ahead of time what it would cost him in suffering, and willingly chose his role in the plan of redemption because he loves us that much! He loves you that much!
Dear Lord, Jesus is our brother, who went ahead of us into the pit of hell to deal with death and provide for us a rescue we do not deserve! You loved us first, through the loving kindness and forgiving heart of Jesus. Thank you for that! We love you for that. We repent of our sins that made us worthy of condemnation. Help us Lord to so perceive all our circumstances, both good and evil, as being used in your divine sovereignty to advance your plan of redemption. May we be found to be in cooperation with you, through obedience, and not just being used in spite of ourselves. We now seek to grow into the integrity of Joseph, the character of Christ, and the forgiving heart of God! In Jesus' name, amen.
[i] https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/positive-living/guideposts-classics-corrie-ten-boom-on-forgiveness
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