Moving On

I’m working through the Joseph story, found in Genesis 37-50. It’s quite a story, a compelling read! You would be blessed if you took the time to read it. Go ahead.

You will find Joseph, a not very likable 17-year-old, changing into a very powerful yet humble man. He forgives all kinds of people of all kinds of things along the way. He doesn’t seem to consider himself a victim, which would have been an easy thing to do.

I found this by Henri Nouwen. It describes what Joseph did and maybe what you need to do:


Sometimes we have to "step over" our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there. Then we become the "offended one," "the forgotten one," or the "discarded one." Yes, we can get attached to these negative identities and even take morbid pleasure in them. It might be good to have a look at these dark feelings and explore where they come from, but there comes a moment to step over them, leave them behind and travel on.

Joseph was able to step over stuff and move on, mostly, it seems to me, because he had an awareness of God’s redemptive ability to change bad stuff into good. As he forgives his brothers, he says this:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. – Genesis 50:20

I believe that too, and it has helped me get through lots of stuff in life. God is good and faithful.

Step over and travel on!