Journeys

Today we continue  with the story of Joseph a number of years later at a time when famine had hit the countries around the Middle East. From a time of imprisonment now God puts Joseph in a position to aid his family as they flee the drought in Canaan to live in Egypt. In Genesis 42 we read, “Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.…So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father da Isaac.”

How times had changed; at first the brothers, on coming to meet the overseer of Pharaohs granaries did not recognise their brother.  Jealousy had turned into awe and reconciliation.

This raises the question as to how do we deal with situations when we have been wronged.

Joseph was just 17 years old when his older brothers, driven by jealousy, sold him into slavery (Genesis 37). Over the next several years, rather than allowing the pain of his situation to drag him down, Joseph kept his integrity and held to his faith in God.

He went from favoured son of Jacob to slave to head of the household for Pharaoh’s guard to prisoner to the governor of Egypt.

When we are put into situations we did not cause, it can be tempting to fall into a state of despair, but if we allow God to work in our circumstances, we can actually rise up and become an even better version of ourselves than we were before. In 1 Peter 3:9 we read “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

Somewhere in his writings the late Chinese sufferer for Christ, Watchman Nee, tells of two Chinese terrace farmers. The farmer whose field was higher up the hill was a Christian. He would get up early and work hard to pump water by hand for his crops. But his shifty neighbour below him would cut a path through his upper neighbours dikes and let the water flow down to his lower field. This happened more than once and the Christian farmer was quite irritated with his lazy neighbour.

But rather than going down and yelling at his neighbour, the Christian farmer started pumping water first for his neighbour’s field and then for his own. As I recall the story, the lazy neighbour soon came under conviction, went to the Christian and apologised, and then listened to the Christian’s witness about Christ and came to faith in Christ himself.

Loving Father, it is so difficult to let go of the hurt.
First I ask you to cleanse my heart of my resentment I may hold.
Grant me the grace to forgive for this pain I feel.
Heal my brokenness and give me peace.
I believe you have the power to do this.
I trust in your justice.

In your compassion, grant him whatever grace is needed today.

I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord
Through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

A