God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt. (Genesis 45:7, 8 NLT)
Perspective. We need perspective. Perspective like Joseph had. He hasn't seen his brothers in years & the last time he saw them they were watching him scream & yell as they sold him into slavery. Now, he's the one who holds all the cards. Talk about reaping what you have sown.
Joseph also displays forgiveness here. If I'm Joseph, I'm letting those jerks starve! He forgives. Forgives them for sending him away to a foreign country. Forgives them for the 2 years he spent in prison. Forgives them for losing years that he could of had with family. How is he able to do this? He actually says that God sent him to Egypt, not his brothers! Are you serious!?
Joseph sees something beyond the lies, beyond the suffering, & beyond himself. God has a plan & he is using him in that redemptive plan. See, his brother Judah is going to have a son. And Judah's sons will have sons. And their sons will have sons. I think you get the point. Until one day, one of Judah's descendants would die on a cross, redeeming a people for God. Without Judah, we don't have Jesus. Joseph went to Egypt so Judah would starve.
The next time we lose our perspective because of difficult circumstances or are reluctant to forgive, just remember Joseph. God has us where we are for His redemptive purposes even if we have to walk a difficult road to get there.
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