The following is a devotion from my message series 10 Steps to Freedom. I hope these devotionals help you experience lasting freedom in Jesus!

STEP FIVE: day 3

Release your hurt through forgiveness

Before his very eyes, Joseph had the opportunity to pay back his brothers for the harm they had caused him years before. In the book of Genesis, we see the story of twelve brothers, the sons of Israel. Joseph was the favorite son and everyone knew it, especially Joseph. His brothers, filled with jealousy, seized an opportunity to gang up on him when their father wasn’t looking. Joseph was sold into slavery to the neighboring Egyptians and their father was told Joseph had been torn apart by wild animals. As the years go on, the brothers move on, assuming that Joseph would never be heard from again, even if he was still alive.

Joseph was not only very much alive, but God was guiding his steps from slavery to the second highest position of power in all of Egypt, to guide the nation through a prophesied famine. So when unbeknownst to them the brothers find themselves standing in front of the mighty Joseph (now known as Zaphenath-Paneah) begging for food, Joseph literally had their lives in his hands. But instead of paying them back, he did something shocking: he forgave them.

“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid.’” Genesis 50:19-21

Instead of retaliating, Joseph chose to release his hurt through forgiveness. If he could do it, so can you.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. If you had the chance to confront those who have hurt you the most and if you could make them feel the pain they caused you, would you? What do you think that would accomplish?

2. Joseph could move past his bitterness because he could see the hand of God behind even the tragedies in his life. Are you at a place where you could say the same thing?

You can read other devotional entries for 10 Steps to Freedom here.