Forgiveness, and other things!

Ok, several things to write today which are on my mind.

The first one is this.  I've hit a bit of a crossroads in my journey at the moment.  Do you ever get those times - there are roads leading off in all directions and you don't know which one to take?  Then you think you know but you aren't sure.  Or better still the one you know you should go down seems so much more dull and boring than the others.  What do you do?  Which way do you go?  How do you know?  How long have you got to decide?  What happens if you take the wrong route - will you get back on the right path?  Hmmmm.  Any advice?

Secondly, nothing like a bit of attack to hinder your journey.  I'm currently a bit uninspired and lethargic about my journey, and even the blog.  Not that I don't want to do it or anything, but I think the 'novelty' is wearing off a bit and the excitement is fading.  I know this is attack because it hit straight after I wrote the MOT blog in which I was quite open and honest.  Then there are certain things which have gotten in the way of my relationship with God at the moment and which are trying to throw me off course.  I know there are quite a few of you out there who read this, and who perhaps feel the same and/or have been through similar, so perhaps you would like to offer your advice to anyone feeling like this, or to share your thoughts, tips and testimonies to spur others on who might be experiencing similar.  Let's be quick to 'mutually encourage eachother' in our faith here (Romans 1v12).  There is a comments box below or you can write under the link on Facebook.  (And please note, this is not intended as a search for sympathy for myself, it is so we can hopefully encourage eachother.  Your thoughts and voice and opinions matter too.)

Thirdly, I LOVE today's passage in the journey with God journal Genesis 49v29 - 50v26.  What a lovely story of forgiveness and love and grace...

50v15 'When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong things we did to him?"'....... v19-21 'But Joseph said to them "Don't be afraid.  Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don't be afraid, I will provide for you and your children."  And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.'

HOW COOL IS THIS!  After all that Joseph's brothers had done to him; beaten him, sold him as a slave, lied about it all to their father..., here is Joseph completely ready to forgive and love them.  Joseph didn't say, well I'll only give you a little of what I have, and on condition that you kiss my feet and pamper me day and night.  NO.  Joseph whole heartedly forgave them and was free from any bitterness and anger.  How many times do we hold grudges against people?  How often do we forgive people on the condition that they do X, Y or Z?  This is probably one of the most wonderful yet most difficult concepts in life - forgiveness.  People hurt us, others hurt us REAL bad.  We often don't want to forgive and live happily ever after until we see justice.  Yet sometimes we need to for give our selves, our pride, our bitterness and our anger and just love and get on with it.  I believe that praying for someone who has caused us a grievance can help too.  The other day I was really angry at something and told God just how angry I was.  I took a lot of my frustration and anger to Him in prayer, even telling him how much I was not going to back down and forgive this.  The following day I got a text from the person who had annoyed me, and in an instant my bitterness melted and I even apologised for any grievance I had caused them.  I haven't even thought about it since.

Sometimes the more we love and forgive, the more free we are, and the more we even provoke others to repent and seek forgiveness.  Joseph's loving kindness to his brothers in giving them grain and looking after them during the famine led them to seek his forgiveness personally.  What an excellent picture.

Finally, what struck me about this was the process that was involved.  Can you imagine if Joseph had by chance bumped into his brothers a few days or months after they had sold him to slavery?  I'm sure the story would be completely different.  He probably would want to kill them or punch them or something.  I know I definitely would.  However, despite forgiveness often being a choice, I also think there is a process involved.  Joseph needed to go through the process of time away, prison, promotion, service, responsibility and so on before he forgave.  He probably needed to work things out in his own head and mature in character and faith until he was stronger in himself.  Even when he first encountered them he didn't forgive them straight away.  He sent them away with grain and a plot for their return.  Who's to say that this wasn't all part of him buying time to reason with himself and the Lord and bring himself to a suitable position to forgive?  Perhaps I am wrong, this is just a thought. So I think it's ok to recognise the process and the journey to forgiveness.

I'd like to finish with a link to this amazing video and song by Underoath which really inspires me to forgive and to seek forgiveness. Hope it works!

Chorus
Hey unfaithful I will teach you
To be stronger,
To be stronger
Hey ungraceful I will teach you
To forgive one another


Any thoughts, comments?