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.
Observation
Joseph's brothers were afraid that since their father had died, that Joseph would now exact revenge for the crimes they committed against him. Joseph tells them not to be afraid and points to God. Joseph challenges his brothers too look at things from a God perspective. A God perspective is the opposite of fear, in fact a God perspective casts out fear.
The God perspective for the circumstances surrounding Joseph and his brothers, is that God had a plan and that plan was fulfilled. Joseph could see that plan in hindsight, but when going through the persecution and imprisonment, Joseph must have struggled to see God's good plan in it all. Now that the refinement process was nearing its end, Joseph could see all that had happened in a new way; a God way.
Application
With head knowledge alone I get that the trials right now are making me look more and more like Christ. It is the heart that must be convinced. Feelings rage inside telling me the opposite of what I know. How do I get my heart to connect with my head? I can't, only God can. So I wait and trust Him to use all things to make me look more like Him.
Prayer
Father, it is hard to see Your goodness sometimes, but I trust You. If it pleases You, please give me Your perspective on all that is raging inside me right now.
Lots of times we hold grudge when we. Should be asking for forgiveness to the person we hold the grudge against it is not up to us to judge a person but sometimes that is hard we let the flesh take over when we should be giveing it to god
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