Episode 326
Letting Go and Finding Freedom in Forgiveness
"Use kind words, use kind actions. Ensure that although someone has hurt you deeply to the core you don't throw negativity back at them." - Wesleyne
"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 wrongs we did to him?'"- Genesis 50: 15
**Title:** The Journey of Forgiveness
Joseph's story is one of immense trials and tribulations.
Sold into slavery by his brothers, he faced unkindness and envy.
His brothers, fearing Joseph's vengeance after their father's death, represent the human instinct of retaliation.
Despite Joseph's hardships, he exemplified forgiveness. When Joseph reassured his brothers, he showed that God commands forgiveness, not revenge.
Joseph's actions demonstrate that God doesn't advocate retaliation but rather forgiveness and kindness.
Joseph's journey to forgiveness wasn't easy; it took many years. Forgiveness is a process, not an overnight event.
Surrendering to God allows Him to soften our hearts and work through us. Letting go of control and trusting God brings freedom.
Encourage continually releasing worries and anxieties to God, trusting in His provision and care.
Takeaways:
- When feeling defeated, remember that God is not a God of defeat.
- Negative emotions are tools of the enemy and should not be embraced.
- Letting go of control and surrendering to God allows Him to work in our lives.
- Fully surrendering to God means taking our hands off the situation and trusting Him completely.
- Continually release worries and anxieties to God, trusting that He will take care of them.
Chapters:
- 00:00 Feeling Defeated
- 00:58 God is Not a God of Defeat
- 03:18 Fully Surrendering to God
- 05:11 Continuing to Release and Trust
What questions are you struggling to answer? Wesleyne would love to answer these questions for you personally. Send any questions or prayer requests to hello@askwesleyne.com
Follow Wesleyne on Instagram @wesleynewhittaker
Transcript
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 wrongs we did to him? Genesis 50 verses 15.
The story of Joseph and his brothers and all of the trials and tribulations that he went through, they are immense. His brother sold him into slavery and his brothers were always unkind to him and they did so many things to hurt him throughout his life. And so they knew that Joseph was their father's favorite.
So that's why in this verse they said, now our father is dead. And they thought that Joseph was only being kind to them because he was their father's favorite. And so they felt that they had favor through their father. And so they were worried because what does human nature tell us? Human nature tells us if somebody hurts you, I hurt them back. We think an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.
But that's not what God wants us to do. We don't serve a God of revenge or payback or get back at this person. We serve a God that commands us to forgive, that commands us to not hold things against us.
Wesleyne (:That's the God that we serve.
Wesleyne (:In verse 21, Joseph said, so then don't be afraid, I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
So these brothers that put him in slavery, that were unkind to him, never said kind words to him, that envied him his entire life.
Joseph didn't allow that bitterness, he didn't allow that pain, he didn't allow that unforgiveness to overtake him. When he had an opportunity, when he had the upper hand, he told them, don't be afraid. I'm gonna take care of not only you, but you and your family. And he spoke kindly to them. Kind words, kind actions.
Forgiveness in action. When people hurt us, when people do us wrong, we want to take things into our own hands. We want to make them feel the pain that we have felt. And believe me, I understand. People have hurt me throughout my life.
And sometimes I would take things in my own hands. However, anytime I took things into my own hands, the outcome was of my doing. And it caused me more pain. It caused me more suffering. It caused me more shame, more guilt. But when I took my hands completely off situations and saying, God,
Wesleyne (:This is hard. I don't want to forgive this person. They've hurt me deeply to my core and I know I cannot forgive on my own. So I am asking you to intercede to soften my heart, to work on me because that is the key to forgiveness. You must work on yourself. You must ask God to work on you, work through you.
And once you ask God to soften your heart, to give you the words, to give you whatever you need to forgive that person, that is where your strength comes from. And what I know about forgiveness and what I know about...
giving unmerited grace to those that have hurt you is we are pleasing in God's eyes. He smiles upon those things that we do. He loves to see us doing those things.
Wesleyne (:So use kind words, use kind actions.
Wesleyne (:ensure that although someone has hurt you deeply to the core that you don't throw negativity back at them.
that you ask God to work on you, to work through you until you are ready. You must be ready. It took Joseph many, many, many years to get to this place. This is not an overnight process. Allow God to work in and through you so that one day you can speak kind words to those that have hurt you.
