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Am I in the Place of God?
Genesis 50:15-21, NIV

Wounds of the past are some of the most difficult and troublesome parts of our lives. Even though we live by faith, past wounds give us trouble continually and deprive us of pleasure. Therefore, as Christians, we need the healing grace of the Cross to heal our wounds and overcome them in order to change our lives.


1. The wounded past.

Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons (Ge 37:3). Joseph was always obedient to his father and was a boy full of dreams (Ge 37:13). Joseph?셲 brothers hated him, because he took all of the love of their father, and they hated him all the more after they heard his dreams (Ge 37:8). When Joseph was on an errand for his father and was looking for his brothers, they locked him in a cistern and then sold him as a slave to passing merchants. Joseph, an innocent boy with many dreams who was dearly loved by his father and was always obedient to him, was greatly hurt by his own brothers. Wounds can devastate a healthy spirit. The devil controls us through our wounds from the past. The devil ties us to our past wounds, and we live a life of despair. However, God controls our past, present, and future when we leave everything to Him, and He fills us with hope.


2. God is with us in times of suffering (Ge 39:2-3).

Although Joseph suffered greatly, God was always with him. Even though he was reduced to the status of slaves, he was always successful, because God was with him. Joseph earned great recognition from his master, Potiphar, was put in a high position (Ge 39:4), and his master was blessed through Joseph (Ge 39:5). Although he was put in prison because of false accusations by Potiphar?셲 wife, he won recognition from the prison guards and was put in charge of all the administrative work in the prison (Ge 39:22-23). When God is with us, He gives us success in everything we do. He turns suffering into rejoicing (Ro 5:3-4). When we have faith in God, He gives us grace and blessings and takes charge of our lives (Dt 28:2).혻혻혻혻혻혻혻


3. God?셲 providence.

Joseph was put in prison where the king?셲 prisoners were confined. No one could escape from there without the king?셲 permission. It seemed that Joseph was doomed to stay in a jail cell for the rest of his life. However, he interpreted dreams for the king?셲 servant. With such momentum, he interpreted dreams for the king, offered wise solutions, and became the governor of the land of Egypt (Ge 41:39-41). Although we may be in a desperate situation, we are in God?셲 providence. God takes a firm hold on us when we are on the brink of a precipice, and He helps us fly to the sky. God leads us to great victory?봢ven in the most desperate situation where every problem seems to be entangled.


4. A life of absolute positivity.

Just as Joseph had interpreted, the seven years of abundance came to an end, and the years of famine began. Two years into the famine, Joseph?셲 brothers came to Egypt to buy grain, and they bowed down to Joseph (Ge 42:6). It took 22 years for Joseph to realize the dream that he had when he was 17 years old. Joseph presented himself before his brothers and confessed with the faith of absolute positivity that everything that had happened in the past was in God?셲 providence (Ge 45:7-8; 50:19-21). Then he forgave his brothers who had sold him as a slave.


In God, our dreams come true. Although we may experience suffering and wounds, please remember in faith that God?셲 providence will be realized. I hope that we will become people of absolute positivity, love, and forgiveness, in order to receive a glorious tomorrow which God has prepared for us.