Have you had your Joy Juice
today? You can choose a bitter serving
or a sweet one made with genuine joy.
Not
one of us can escape the temptation to have bitter feelings toward someone who
has hurt us or our family. Will we allow
ourselves to become a bitter person?
Let’s look at Joseph in the Bible for a good example.
Joseph’s
life was filled with evil actions that he had no control over. His brothers who
were jealous of their father’s favor, faked his death and sold him into
slavery. Later, he would be falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into
prison. Joseph had much to be angry about, but he didn’t give into bitterness.
Instead, he let God turn his horrible circumstances into something good.
Let’s learn from this
wonderful role model! Joseph had to make some intentional choices….either to
give in to the temptation of discouragement and despair OR to move forward with
God leading each step of the way. Rather
than assuming his role as ‘victim’, he trusted God. He chose NOT to focus on the pain or to become
imprisoned by bitterness.
Will that be our choice as well,
when we are faced with challenging, hurtful situations? We have a choice as to what that pain and
hurt becomes. It can either be evil that remains evil—or it can be turned
around by God to bring something joyfully good. (Genesis 50:20: “You intended
to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done,
the saving of many lives.”)
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