Say No to Grudges

Week 3 Day 3

Genesis 42-43; Psalm 5; Luke 17

Genesis 42:6-7, 24, 43:29-30
 ⁶ Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked.
      "From the land of Canaan," they replied, "to buy food."

 ²⁴ He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.


²⁹ As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son." ³⁰Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

// THOUGHTS:

Really put myself in Joseph's shoes.  What would it have been like to see his brothers again?  The ones who betrayed him, mocked him, sold him as a slave, were jealous of him, etc?  Yet in these passages, it reminds me of what love truly is:

_forgetting trespasses
_compassion
_soft heart

This is now the fulfillment of the dream that the Lord has given Joseph when he was younger.  This is now the fullness of its manifestation - when they were bowing down to him (Joseph) as his dream stated.  It would've been easy for him to just rewind everything back and pay back all the evil he had received.  Yet, a few characteristics I've noticed with Joseph:


_he didn't rush it
_he made sure his brothers changed
:: that they weren't lying about Ben-Oni and their father Jacob
:: that they weren't spying
_he exercised self-control
_he expressed his emotions
_he acted in compassion with boundary (and not mindlessly)
_he did it all for his fear of the Lord (42:18)

// BELLE:

Forgiveness, self-control, compassion with boundary, etc are all qualities of a great leader as that of Joseph.  I could choose to hold grudges or I could choose to forgive.  I could choose to uncontrollably pay evil back for evil or I could choose to be controlled for the sake of righteousness.  I could be compassionate and act mindlessly towards it or I could be compassionate within the perimeters of agape love.  I choose the latter. 


// LORD, it is very hard to do this especially when our emotions are involved.  Yet, You remain my strength in all circumstance.  I pray that You fill me with Your compassion, love, and self-control - all a part of the fruit of the Spirit.  Help me to be obedient to You even if my feelings and my will wants to do otherwise.  You are my strength, in Jesus' name amen.