When artist Gary Sweeney decided to sell the home his family had owned for seventy years, he created a unique way of saying goodbye. Sweeney selected and enlarged one hundred family photos, placing them on pieces of plywood. He attached the plywood to the home’s exterior—covering the entire structure in memories.
Experiences with our parents and siblings stay with us for life. Good or bad, memories pry into our lives with invisible fingers, influencing our self-image, decisions, and emotions.
When Joseph was seventeen years old, his brothers sold him as a slave to a group of traders headed to Egypt. Many years later when he encountered his brothers again, Joseph “broke down and wept” (Genesis 45:2). Despite the emotions, Joseph didn’t allow hurtful memories to affect his relationship with his brothers. He acknowledged the past, but didn’t make them feel guilty for what they’d done. He said, “Don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me . . . . It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives” (Genesis 45:5). God had given Joseph great success in Egypt and as a result he was able to save his brothers and their families during a severe famine.
Joseph could have allowed himself to become bitter and hateful. He could have taken revenge by denying help to his family. Although nothing could change how his brothers had hurt him, Joseph’s decision to treat them with kindness released him from the misery of the past.
We may not be able to change our past, but we don’t have to let it determine our future. God is able to redeem the bad intentions of other people (Genesis 50:20). By His grace, we can choose to bless people who’ve hurt us—finding healing through forgiveness.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Exodus 15:22-27, 17:1-7
More:
Read Rev. 21:3-5 to see how God will one day erase the pain of our earthly lives. Look up Micah 7:19 and see how God handles our offenses against Him.
Next:
How can experiencing God’s forgiveness for our sin help us to extend grace to others? Why do you think God wants us to “[forget] the past and [look] forward to what lies ahead”? (Philippians 3:13).
Gary Shultz on February 11, 2017 at 6:12 am
Hi Jennifer: The man Joseph is an amazing example of faith, patience and endurance in action. Although heaven will provide the end of suffering, I’m sure you imply that victory over our memories is to be experienced now. Joseph lived forgiveness, not just from his brothers, but others continued to treat him poorly. Our God, he relied on, navigated life to not only to experience blessing, but to give blessing. He became a person God could work with because the past did not dictate the future. Oh yes, we remember, and some people have experienced great pain in the past, but God will work beyond the past, to blessing, if we can let it go. We must chose to lay aside the pain of the past and rely on the strong arms of our Lord. He continues to bring us to a home where He lives, beyond a bruising past . Between now and then we have grace and forgiveness to give to a world in a great famine of peace. Thanks Jennifer
don777 on February 11, 2017 at 7:08 am
God is in control. No matter what! He is not dependent on what I think or not think, know or not know, How I feel or even understand. God is in control even if things seem to be out of control. Through His Word we can really see GOD in control. HE is the CREATOR and SUBSTAINER of all things. All through the Bible there are things that look like a disaster, but God used them for the good. Look at the cross, I bet the disciples thought what a disaster. The unknown can be scary. This is where the rubber meets the road. Because of his WORD & HOLY SPIRIT who gives us eyes & ears on our heart, He shows us Who He is. He Loves us so much that He laid His life down for us on the cross, (He took our punishment for our sin) to restore the relationship with us. He blessed us with a free will (ability to choose). So I can trust & obey whether understand or not. (faith) John 6:67-69 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 “Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
gagirllive on February 11, 2017 at 8:57 am
Hi, Jennifer. This is one of the most poignant scenes in the Old Testament…and definitely one of my favorites. I’m brought to tears every time I read it. What a remarkable man Joseph was! He certainly didn’t let his past define his future. But I’m quite sure he didn’t get there overnight. Joseph had 20 years—after being sold into slavery by his brothers—to grow up and come to terms with his life. We know that he accepted his past and embraced his present circumstances not only because of the loving response he showed toward his brothers but also by stating 3 times that it was God who sent him there. That’s HUGE! And that’s the take-away, I believe, in his story for us. When we see EVERYTHING in our lives as under the sovereign control and permissive will of God, He does an amazing work in our hearts and lives—acceptance, healing, empathy, forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation. When bad things happen to us, especially at the hand of others, it’s hard to believe that somehow God is involved. But He is. Though He’s not the author of evil, He allows NOTHING to come to His children unless He has a redeemable purpose for it. Somehow we have to learn to say (whether directly or indirectly), “This is from God.” When we are able to embrace this truth (and it does take time and often some “wrestling” with God), we can let those who have hurt us “off the hook”, so to speak. We see them and ourselves in God’s great story for our lives. The painful memories of the past become a single thread in the fabric of our lives instead of the whole cloth. God is the Master Weaver and He is able to weave ALL things in our lives together for good into a beautiful tapestry. Both, the hurt and the hurter, can live in the grace of God and extend it to one another when we see things through the lens of His redeeming love and purpose. Thank you for this insightful post today, Jennifer. I think it will be an encouragement to a lot of people. It has for me. A blessed weekend to you!