Here’s the thing that struck me as I studied the life of Joseph: Finding the favor of God requires forgiveness.
You forsake me? I forgive you. You frame me? I forgive you. You forget me? I forgive you.
Joseph did not become bitter. He did the hard work of forgiveness. He saw the hand of a sovereign God in his life. He trusted God was at work through his pain. He guarded his heart from bitterness. And he kept the favor of God on his life. And as we shall see, in time, it paid off big time.
What about you? Maybe you passed the test of being forsaken, but failed the test of being framed. Maybe you passed the test of being framed, but failed the test of being forgotten.
You’ve been hurt. Don’t deny it. But don’t nurse it. Forgive.
See, on Mother’s Day, let’s not sugar coat things. Yes, families help each other. Hopefully, a lot. But families hurt each other. Unfortunately, a lot. And if you as a mom want your kids to experience God’s favor, then you need to teach (and model) forgiveness. Finding the favor of God requires forgiveness.
In her book Choosing Forgiveness, Nancy Leigh DeMoss has a chapter called the Art of Forgiveness. And in the chapter she shares an exercise that many people have found helpful.
Pull out a sheet of paper. Make 3 columns. In column #1, write the names of the people who have hurt you. In column #2, write a brief synopsis of what they’ve done to hurt you. In column #3, write how you’ve responded.
For most of us, this is where it gets hard. We resent the people who hurt us. We are ticked at them. We bad-mouth them. We give negative reports. We retaliate in subtle ways. We disengage. We withhold love. We put up walls. We stiff-arm them. We ignore them. We go out of our way to avoid them. We don’t forgive them.
And then we wonder why the favor of God doesn’t rest on our lives.
Here’s why we must forgive.
Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)
Joseph was able to move beyond bitterness and experience the fruits of forgiveness on that side of the cross. We are on this side of the cross. We know what it cost Jesus to forgive us. It cost Him His life. What we have received from Christ, we extend through Christ to others.
You forsake me? I forgive you. You frame me? I forgive you. You forget me? I forgive you.
Joseph did not become bitter. He did the hard work of forgiveness. He saw the hand of a sovereign God in his life. He trusted God was at work through his pain. He guarded his heart from bitterness. And he kept the favor of God on his life. And as we shall see, in time, it paid off big time.
What about you? Maybe you passed the test of being forsaken, but failed the test of being framed. Maybe you passed the test of being framed, but failed the test of being forgotten.
You’ve been hurt. Don’t deny it. But don’t nurse it. Forgive.
See, on Mother’s Day, let’s not sugar coat things. Yes, families help each other. Hopefully, a lot. But families hurt each other. Unfortunately, a lot. And if you as a mom want your kids to experience God’s favor, then you need to teach (and model) forgiveness. Finding the favor of God requires forgiveness.
In her book Choosing Forgiveness, Nancy Leigh DeMoss has a chapter called the Art of Forgiveness. And in the chapter she shares an exercise that many people have found helpful.
Pull out a sheet of paper. Make 3 columns. In column #1, write the names of the people who have hurt you. In column #2, write a brief synopsis of what they’ve done to hurt you. In column #3, write how you’ve responded.
For most of us, this is where it gets hard. We resent the people who hurt us. We are ticked at them. We bad-mouth them. We give negative reports. We retaliate in subtle ways. We disengage. We withhold love. We put up walls. We stiff-arm them. We ignore them. We go out of our way to avoid them. We don’t forgive them.
And then we wonder why the favor of God doesn’t rest on our lives.
Here’s why we must forgive.
Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)
Joseph was able to move beyond bitterness and experience the fruits of forgiveness on that side of the cross. We are on this side of the cross. We know what it cost Jesus to forgive us. It cost Him His life. What we have received from Christ, we extend through Christ to others.
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