In today’s 5- Minute study we explore offering words that bring healing to others

Key Passage:

¹Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers…⁴Then Joseph said to them, “Please come closer.” They did, and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people’s lives. (Genesis 45:1,4-5, ESV)

(optional) Read Genesis 45:1-28

The Power of Observation:

What did Joseph do when he saw his brothers for the first time in years?

Why do you think Joseph sent everyone from the room before revealing himself to his brothers?

What did Joseph say to his brothers once they were alone that opened the door to healing and restoration of relationship?

The Power of Self-Awareness:

Knowing yourself, would you have taken the position of forgiveness as Joseph did or would you have used the opportunity for revenge?

How difficult is it for you to forgive someone who has wounded you in such a terrible way?  

How long do you tend to hold onto the past sins or hurts you have received from others?

Power to learn from and apply what we read in God’s Word:

In Jeremiah 31:31-34 the prophet Jeremiah speaks a powerful word from God when he said no longer would it be necessary to tell another they had done wrong because their wrongdoing would be written upon their own heart. Joseph’s brothers were already convicted of their wrongdoing. They had lived with their sin every day for decades and the guilt must have weighed heavily upon their hearts and minds at times. They never expected to see Joseph again but when they did, they were not only shocked but afraid. Joseph was a powerful man in Egypt and could have had them punished but instead he invited them to come near and forgave them; even adding that the terrible thing they had done had turned out for his benefit, the good of others and now their good. If you’ve read the full chapter, then you know there was a great reunion and Joseph was able to provide for his family during the famine and be reunited with his father until Jacob’s death some time later. God’s word does not suggest that forgiveness comes easily. If it did, there would not be so many places in the Bible that teach us the importance of forgiving others. But what the story of Joseph can example for us is seeing how Joseph was able to get beyond his brother’s sin against him, go beyond his own personal pain, and see how God had been at work through everything. God’s plans and ways are always bigger than our own and he can work his plan through the things we experience even when they are painful.                   

The Power of Prayer:

Father, thank you for this powerful story of forgiveness for those who hurt and sin against us. although it is human nature to withhold forgiveness cause us to reach beyond our own pain, our own emotions, our own pride and offer words of forgiveness that bring healing into our and the lives of others. Amen