There was a man from an important family line who was kidnapped, betrayed by his own family and sold into slavery. He surely felt fear. He could have wallowed. I am sure he felt fear and uncertainity, anger at betrayal... But he never lost sight of the fact that why he was owned in body by another, he was in the hands of God (YHWH) who defined who he really was. He did not let the fear from keeping him from knowing Who's he was and who He is...and he advanced to become a trusted right hand man to the prosperous owner.
As time went on, the wife of the owner tried to seduce him. He held to his moral convictions and refused. She set him up and falsley accused him...landing him in prison. Again, he refused to let fears or circumstances define him. They happened, I am sure he wrestled with a wide range of emotions, but he did not let fear control him. He advanced in time to become the right hand man to one of the most prominent countries in the world at the time.
His unlikely positions of slavery and prison brought on by betrayal and false accusations were part of his destiny. Part character building, part faith building... God was unfolding the promises He had given Joseph but on a path and with a process that anyone would prefer to avoid. Sometimes as we transition from a season of pain to a season of potential, we can feel fear in moving forward. What if we are betrayed again? What if we experience more loss? What if we are falsley accused again? What if we genuinely mess up and fail once more? These are all possible. Joseph experienced them multiple times.
But Joseph chose forgiveness that in turn unlock his destiny. Forgiveness is a choice and a process. We choose to forgive but often the pain of loss, betrayal and false accusations must undergo a healing process. In order to move through that process we have to cease to bury emotions and instead be allowed to have space to feel the raw, bleeding heart that we have.
Joseph moved from forgiveness to faith. God promised him things in his youth. He gave him visions of greatness that became the source of his pride to know he would someday walk in something important. I'm sure as he traveled by carvansary to be sold into slavery, that promise looked invisible...there was nothing about his circumstances that made it look like reality. Prison felt like an insignificant part of the process...why this stop over? What was the point? But he did not stop hearing from God, trusting Him. Being prison ended up being the crux of significance. It was meeting the pharaoh's men there and interpreting their dreams that later got him out of prison. By the time he became pharaoh's right hand man, I believe he had been humbled and could fully give all the credit to God for where he was. And it was more than he could have ever asked or imagined!
Have you been given promises from God? Do they sometimes feel very far away from possible? Do you sometimes feel doubt creep in-will the promises ever come to be? How many times do we let the enemy intimidate us from moving forward? He wants us to fear future pain, future trials. That fear holds us back from being able to overcome and move into our destiny.
Loss.
Betrayal.
False accusations.
Real accusations.
It happened. His grace is enough. His mercies are new every morning.
With forgiveness comes an opportunity to be comforted by the One who is not surprised. He has loved you from before the day you were born. He knows all your weaknesses and He wants you to allow His grace to fill you in them that He may be glorified and strengthened in them. Your weakness BECOMES your strength when it is Christ IN you.
Emotional processing is a key to full forgiveness and greater faith. We can not just know it in our head, we have to intimately believe it in our hearts! Emotions can be stored on a cellular level in our bodies. Toxic emotions can cause health problems. Essential oils used immediately following trauma can keep them from being deeply buried. But it is never too late. God made us to always be able to "return to joy from hard things." Essential oils can help us unpack past hurts and heal. You may feel things you were not expecting and recall memories you did not know were there. They may hurt. But you will heal as you feel and move through the process of healing. CBD is also being extensively studied to help PTSD, depression, anxiety and more. Both can unlock memories and make it easier to get through them.
You may need the additional support of biblically solid counseling. EVERYONE needs counseling on some level at some point. This is nothing to be ashamed of! If you are unaware of a reputable counselor in your area, we may be able to help you connect with someone.