Feeling Forgiven: Genesis 50:15-21
God’s goodness is not limited by our plans. He can work through us in ways we cannot even imagine, much less intended. I cannot tell you the number of times God has used me to speak life into someone else’s life and it was not something I planned. God is great, and He works in ways we cannot fathom.
Once everyone returns to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers get together and devise a plot to encourage Joseph to not take vengeance upon them. They realize with Jacob’s death there is nothing holding Joseph in check. He was a powerful man in Egypt. If he wants to, he could make their life miserable and nobody would think anything about it.
This is a great case study in the difference between being forgiven and believing we are forgiven. Joseph had forgiven his brothers. He knew what they did was wrong, but he also understood how God used their action to provide for an entire region of the world. He had climbed to a significant status in Egypt, and that wouldn’t have been a reality had his brothers not sent him out of Canaan – without God’s intervention, of course. Joseph’s life may have had significant moments of turmoil, but God was with him and Joseph overcame. He was happy to put the past in the past and live out the present with a fresh perspective.
Joseph’s brothers, however, weren’t convinced about Joseph’s forgiveness. They knew Joseph said things were okay between them, but they couldn’t understand the rationale. There was hope Joseph meant it, but the verses today indicate that they were not confident Joseph truly forgave them. There was doubt Joseph said what he said to appease his father. They were truly forgiven, but they did not wholly believe they were truly forgiven.
It is easy to judge Joseph’s brothers from our position in history. We know the rest of the story. We know Joseph is trustworthy. Yet, most of us are just as guilty as Joseph’s brothers when it comes to our relationship with God. God says He forgives us. God even demonstrated His love by sending His Son to take our punishment! Even so, we still allow our sinfulness to keep us down. We allow our sinfulness to convince us we are unworthy. We allow our guilt to cause us to doubt the reality of God’s forgiveness. Even though God tells us we are forgiven, He tells us He loves us, and He sent His Son to take our punishment for us, we still try to bargain with God believing He will give us His wrath.
Joseph gives peace to his brothers. What they planned for evil, God reworked for good. God does the same for us. We make plans with ourselves as the focus, and those plans are not always good plans – or even good for all people. God can still bring good out of our plans and forgive our sin. God’s goodness is not limited by our plans.
