A woman came home one afternoon and told her husband that the carburetor had water in it. Her husband not wanting to be rude said. " Honey I'm sorry but you don't understand a spark-plug from a carburetor." Being persistent she said, Trust me there's water in the carburetor." The husband finally said, "Okay where is the car?" She said, "It's in the lake."
Have you ever had to forgive someone for something? If you live very long, trust me you will have to forgive people for more than messing up an automobile. Joseph had a dream about his future but was tested by his brother's jealousy towards him. He had to overcome the poison of pain and hurt from consuming his heart for what his brothers did to him.
They threw him in a pit, and then sold to some Ishmaelites. Then the Ishmaelities took him and sold him down in Egypt at a slave auction. A man named Potiphar bought him and gave him a good job. His lying wife falsely accused Joseph for attempting to rape her, so he ended up in prison for years.
Would Joseph be angry with his brothers, a lying woman, or maybe God? He spent time in prison for a crime he never committed. What would become of his dream? Would he end up bitter, angry, resentful, and sour with life?
It wasn't till years later that God revealed to him just why he was in Egypt? He ended up saving thousands of lives as the Prime Minister of the land to manage seven years of plenty then seven years of famine. Joseph chose not to get bitter but rather to engage in God's dream in savings lives.
Each of us will be tempted like Joseph to:
- Curse our offender
- Nurse our hurt, and to live in a pity party.
- Rehearse over and over again what has happen to us.
God would rather each of us:
- Disburse all the hurt and pain that can poison our hearts.
In the end God can:
- Reverse all the evil that has come against us.
Joseph had an opportunity to get revenge, to get pay backs in what his brothers did in nearly killing him and throwing him in a pit, then later sold him to some travelers. He chose not to get blind and bitter by his nightmare in life. He chose to be generous in forgiving his brothers. He says to each of them; "What you did, you did for evil, but God has meant it for good."
Have you come to realize that God does allow things to happen, not for evil but rather for good? I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) God really does have your future in the palm of His hands. Don't get all rattled and frazzled each time a nightmare comes in your life. God could be up to doing something great through the painful steps of your life.
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