Seeing with a Godly Perspective

Yael Eckstein  |  June 12, 2023

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. – Genesis 50:19-20

As we celebrate the men in our lives this month, enjoy these devotions looking at the defining characteristics of godliness that we can glean from the biblical men of faith — and how we can pass on those values to our children.

Have you ever been mistreated by someone in a way that really hurt you? Forgiveness can be difficult, even as we know it’s the right thing to do. This is especially true when we know that the motives of the person who hurt us were to cause harm and not just a mistake.

So how do we get to the point of forgiveness? How do we look past what was done to us and let it go? It’s not easy.

I find that one of the most effective and truthful ways to get to a point of forgiveness is to change the focus of what was done. Instead of thinking about the person who hurt us and their motives, we focus on faith in God and trusting Him. Only then can we more easily let go of what was done to us. We see one of the most beautiful examples of this at the end of the Book of Genesis.

Seeing with a Godly Perspective

In chapter 50, we read about a conversation between Joseph and his brothers. As you may recall, years earlier, the brothers had sold Joseph into slavery after first considering murdering him. Now, with Joseph as the viceroy in Egypt and their father recently deceased, the brothers worried that Joseph would take revenge on them.

Here’s Joseph’s response: “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.”

Was Joseph letting his brothers off the hook? How did he prevent what they did to him from souring his relationship with them forever? The answer is simple. Faith.

Instead of focusing on what was done to him and why, Joseph instead chose seeing the situation with a godly perspective. Regardless of their motives for what his brothers had done, Joseph chose to see what they had done as part of God’s great plan for his life. With this attitude, Joseph allowed his brotherly relationships to flourish despite what was done to him.

Your Turn:

Being a person of faith means that we truly accept that whatever happens is God’s plan. Use this attitude to stay away from grudges and broken relationships.