MONDAY, JUNE 4
Scripture: Genesis 45:5

In Genesis 45, Joseph demonstrated his developmental understanding of God’s preparational principle. “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come near to me.’ So they came near. Then he said: ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve Iife.’” When Joseph said to his brothers, “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here…,” he looked beyond the relational betrayal of family to God’s ultimate purpose and he was able to acknowledge God’s Hand. He said, “For God sent me before you to preserve life.” Joseph had come to a place of complete peace with his betrayal. He had come to peace with the God who allowed his adversity. That peace enabled him to forgive the perpetrators. Many of us can identify with Joseph’s agony, thinking, “Why did you repay evil for good?” God’s purpose often includes enduring evil! Can we identify God’s purpose? Can we embrace Joseph’s view? Can we come to peace with the pain and the agony of “…why have You repaid evil for good”? That has to be the place we start.