I was in beautiful Hawaii. Sitting on a gorgeous patio with my tea, Bible and journal. I was savoring the moment, sipping my favorite tea, surrounded by an incredible view of the ocean and palm trees, enjoying some quiet time with Jesus, while Doug and the kids still slept. It was a perfect moment! And then, out of nowhere, I suddenly found myself getting a God administered ‘attitude adjustment’ on a situation that I had been wrestling with. And by adjustment, I mean a chiropractor type adjustment – a quick and to the point “ouch”.
It happened while reading through one of my favorite Bible stories – Joseph. In this story, Joseph experiences every kind of emotional pain that you can think of. Rejection. Abandonment. Betrayal. Abuse and more. All at the hand of his very own brothers. Those who he trusted, and who were closest to him. His own family. These brothers not only rejected him, threw him in a pit to die, but they took it a step further. They SOLD him. Into slavery. And ultimately, he landed in prison.
Painful. Some serious potential emotional wreckage. Joseph had every “right” to be bitter and angry, and to seek revenge and retribution. He had gone through 13 years in slavery before being called up to serve in Pharaoh’s house as second in command (That’s another cool part of the story, but not for today). That’s 13 years living out the betrayal of his brothers. He had 13 years to think about his revenge. 13 years of baggage. 13 years of hurt. Then, it all turns around. Is this a time for payback or position?
Joseph’s perspective is so cross-current to what we think of as normal or even healthy in culture today. In these verses, Joseph reveals an emotional default that is different than what we would expect.
Through a crazy turn of events, Joseph has gone from being locked in prison, to being in a position of power over his brothers. He has the power, the means, the motive and the opportunity to put his brothers in slavery if he desires! And yet, listen to these verses in Genesis 45:4-8, as Joseph responds to his brothers in love …
Joseph: “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Don’t be upset or angry with yourselves any longer because of what you did. You see God sent me here ahead of you to preserve life… 7 God sent me here ahead of you to make sure you and your families survive this terrible ordeal and have a remnant left on earth. 8 So it wasn’t really you who sent me here, but God…”
And then he further drives his point home in Genesis 50:19-20, when he says to his brothers…
Joseph: 19 Don’t be afraid. Am I to judge instead of God? It is not my place. 20 Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it only for good, and through me, He preserved the lives of countless people, as He is still doing today.” (The Voice Translation)
Tears sting my eyes, even as I write and process this through again. I have often heard, and even repeated to others, that it takes time to forgive, and it’s not a “one time thing”. Some of those really big hurts and wounds, we must forgive daily as they come to mind. All of which I still believe. But what grips my heart about these verses, is that Joseph understood that his brothers weren’t selling him into slavery, God was positioning him for their freedom.
Joseph sees his brothers’ rejection, betrayal, abandonment and abuse as part of God’s plan to position him for a great purpose – to save a whole lot of people. God was thinking way ahead. Like 20 years ahead! This is where it gets hard to swallow. It’s hard to see the future when something hurts now. Yet, this is what it takes if we are going to bring freedom to others, and be a Joseph leader. A Joseph leader is a deliverer, and if there is any calling in life that takes the perspective of Heaven it is this one.
People hurt people. At times, I have been tempted to throw in the towel, close up emotionally, stop trusting people or lose faith in God. But what if we could live like Joseph. What if we began to trust that the Lord is using people, and some of our greatest hurts and wounds, to position us as deliverers. What if we went way beyond forgiving our offenders, to a place where we could actually thank God for some of our most difficult circumstances. Living with the Joseph mindset is believing that God actually positioned us to exactly where He wanted us to be, so we could fulfill a specific plan.
I can already look back and see this in my own life. I can see how the journey has made me stronger, wiser, with greater discernment and compassion for those that were a challenge along the way. Let’s not forget that God loves them and we are a part of their journey as well. I can see how some of those experiences have been part of God re-positioning Doug and I to Denver, to start the Pearl Church, to reach out to new people, to step out into new territory.
I know that more hurdles will come. More rejection. More pain. But I want to approach it in a new way. I want to have God’s view. If I want my life to count, I have to be willing to trust HIS positioning. Sometimes it’s at the top of the mountain with a clear view, sometimes it’s at the bottom of a dark pit. In a place that feels like a prison. Either way, I want to trust Him to position me however He sees best. As a friend once told me many years ago, “if you know that you will thank the Lord later, you can stop and thank Him today, even when you don’t know what He is doing.”
Next time you find yourself hurting from the actions or words of those close to you, don’t stop at forgiveness, but choose to remember Joseph’s words…
“Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it only for good, and through me, He preserved the lives of countless people, as He is still doing today.”
What is God doing in you through this? How could He be positioning your heart? In what ways can the Joseph perspective help you in a situation right now?
Let’s choose to move from the prison mindset, where we feel trapped by what has been done to us, into a new mindset. A mindset that stems from believing that God is positioning us. A beyond forgiveness kind of mindset.
With much love,
Donna
