The story of Joseph is one of the most
inspiring stories in the Bible. Joseph’s brothers resented him and hated him.
They hated him because he was their father’s favorite. They hated him because
he had been given privileges they didn’t think he deserved. They hated him for
his dreams of grandeur. No family with this kind of out of control emotions
will remain intact. Joseph’s brothers were men carrying highly explosive
emotions.
When the transcontinental railroad was being
built, they used gun powder to blast their way through the rock to make tunnels
for the trains. They tried for a short time to use nitroglycerin, but it was
too powerful and too fragile. A spark from a hammer could set off an explosion
prematurely taking lives.
These sons of Jacob had no help to deal with
these powerful emotions they felt. Parents
who are aware of what is going on in their children and who ask God to help
them can find a way to help. All of these dangerous emotions can be managed if
we can learn to respect them and talk them out. But, we need someone who cares
enough to listen to us and help us sort it all out and diffuse them.
Joseph was attacked by his brothers when he
came to check on their welfare. They beat him and stripped him of his unique
ornamental coat and threw him in a dry cistern. They ate the fare he brought from
his father and refused to listen to his cries for help. Instead of leaving him
there to die, they decided to sell him as a slave to a caravan bound for Egypt.
What wounds these brothers inflicted on this seventeen-year-old brother! Could
he ever forgive them? Yes, incredibly, he did with God’s help.
If anybody ever deserved to be a victim, it
was Joseph. He had not done anything to deserve this. How easy it would have been for him to carry
this hurt with him the rest of his life and plan his revenge. However, Joseph
never became a victim. The fact that Joseph overcame his hurt and allowed God
to help him find his will for his life is amazing.
We all carry wounds, some of which go back to
when we were young, and for others, the scars are more recent. Most can name
those old wounds like it was yesterday. Victimhood is very popular today,
whether it is a victim of poverty, a victim of prejudice, or a victim of bad parenting
or a horrible divorce. It is imperative to understand that being a victim is a
form of slavery. The hate and resentment are the chains that keep us in the dungeon
of dark emotions.
Joseph’s life teaches us that life is full of
inequities. But it also shows us that we have a great God who is right in the
middle of all that is wrong and if we will trust him, he performs his will, and
no one can stop him.
How about turning all your hurt, pain,
resentment, and hate all over to God? You may have made some serious mistakes that
you can’t get over. You may have no sense of purpose or desire to go on. Maybe
you are like Joseph feeling like you are sitting at the bottom of the cistern
with even your own family turned away from you. You think you are all alone. If
this is you, then turn your life entirely to God. Only God can put the pieces
of our broken dreams back together. Only God can make something beautiful of
the tragedies of our lives. You are not alone because God loves you!
