DON'T REHEARSE IT!
25th Nov 2015
When you have been hurt by what someone has said or the way you have been treated, it is so easy to start telling others so that you can gain their sympathy or get them on your side. This is not good; some years ago I heard teaching about how to deal with offences which gave this instruction, “Don’t rehearse it!”
When you repeat the way you have been offended it keeps it alive. Sometimes the ones you tell will be even more angry than you are. The only way to deal with offence is through forgiveness, and then releasing those who have hurt you. As the teaching I heard said, “When you release it, you can reverse it.”
That is what Joseph did. His brothers had treated him cruelly and he had been banished to Egypt, where he was again badly treated by Potiphar’s wife and the Butler. However, Joseph never told anyone in Egypt of the terrible things his brothers had done to him, so that when they arrived to buy corn, no one was aware of the past history.
They were all thrilled to see Joseph reconciled to his brothers, and soon a great welcome was laid on for the family as they relocated to Egypt. What would have happened had the Egyptians known the full story? They may well have refused Joseph’s request to bring his family to Egypt.
Joseph had not rehearsed the brutal way he had been treated, he had released it and was able to say, “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with me for it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” and after Jacob died and the brothers feared reprisals, he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 45:5 & 50:20)
Is there an offence in your life that is being repeated and holding you captive? Forgive, release, and turn a curse into a blessing.
by Charles Sibthorpe
