Forgiveness is Never Easy

…When their message came to him, Joseph wept.  Genesis 50: 17b

Have you ever had to forgive someone a huge wrong?  It’s hard to do isn’t it.

I’m not talking about forgiving someone who talked bad about you or lied about you.  Maybe you have had someone steal from you and you knew you needed to forgive them.  Forgiving someone is always hard but I am talking about forgiving someone whose choices had a life altering consequences for you.

Perhaps someone’s lies lost you your job, causing you to uproot your family in search of a new start.  Maybe you have been the victim of abuse.  Now, because of someone else’s choices you are trying to learn how to trust again. It could be, you have lost a loved one to a drunk driver and your only choice is to forgive or let the hopeless bitterness and despair consume you.

Joseph was confronted with the seemingly impossible decision of forgiving his brothers.  Sold into slavery as a young boy, Joseph was separated from parents who loved him and forced to live a life of servitude.  He was falsely accused of assault, imprisoned, and alone.  None of these things would have happened to him if his brothers hadn’t acted in such an evil way against him.  Joseph had reason to seek revenge yet their father asks him to seek forgiveness.

His dying request for his son was, “I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.”   Joseph’s response to this request was forgiveness, but something happened before he declared them forgiven and I don’t want you to miss it.

Joseph wept.

When we have been sinned against, forgiveness is required of us.  It is not easy, especially when the hurt is deep and life-changing.  I believe to forgive a deep hurt we must grieve.  Grieve what was lost.  A friend, a job, trust, innocence… Grieve.  Weep deeply, then turn to God to fill that void.  When God fills the hurt we can rely on his strength to forgive.

Read the entire scripture here Genesis 50: 12-21