Joseph's Healing of Memories (Part 3)

THANK GOD FOR THE GIFTS AND BLESSINGS.

In Genesis 45, Joseph was talking to his brothers more than 20 years after they mistreated him. He pointed out that God had sent him ahead to save their lives. He was merely making statements of fact, not bragging or boasting. Joseph was in effect thanking God for the good things God has given him inspite of what happened.

That is what I had to do lately. I had to quit mourning over some loss and start thanking God for His gifts and blessings. I thank God for an ability to shoot basketball more skillfully than others. I thank Him for giving me an intellectual capacity to write and grasp deeper insights. I thank Him for being able to preach and teach again, that people say they want to hear again. A list could go on.

The Apostle Paul wrote about this kind of thankfulness. He said in 1 Thessalonians 5, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." We can thank God with joy no matter how painful the memories are. We can praise Him even more, believing that all things work together for good. As Romans 8:28 states, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Thank God for His gifts and blessings. Trusting God for the good in any situation brings healing to the pain in memories.

Joseph's Healing of Memories (Part 2)

SHARE THE MEMORY WITH GOD.

Joseph had painful memories that needed to be healed. A step he took was to share the painful memory of his brothers' sins with God. He had those memories available as we can see in his comments to the cupbearer in Genesis 40. "For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon."

The Apostle Paul had many painful memories. Being beaten. Stoned. Shipwrecked. He shared those memories with God as well as with believers in Corinth. After sharing those memories with the Corinthian believers, he wrote about God's grace being sufficient (2 Cor. 11).

When I shared some painful memories with God, one of the first things He'd process in me were the damaged emotions associated with them. I sat down alone with God a number of times, asking Him to heal. The emotions sometimes had to be brought to the surface again so that unresolved aspects of the memory can be fully healed.

Joseph did this. He even became thankful for the memory! Later he told his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it to save our lives" (Genesis 50). He shared the memory with God who worked all things together for good for him.

Joseph's Healing of Memories (Part 1)

Scripture: "When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!' So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, 'Your father charged before he died, saying, 'Thus you shall say to Joseph, 'Please forgive I beg you the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.' And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God your father.' And Joseph when they spoke to him... But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid, I will provide for you and your little ones.' So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." (Genesis 50: 15-21)

The story of Joseph is a story of healing of painful memories. As a teenager, his family members - his jealous brothers - hated him so much and plotted to kill him. And they actually sold him into slavery.

It's understandable that Joseph would suffer a time of experiencing emotional baggage and pain from these experiences. In chapters 42, 43, and 45 of Genesis, he was unable to control his weeping when he saw his brothers 22 to 39 years later after the offense! There were emotions related to the memory even after some time.

But Joseph got healed. God's Spirit worked in him to bring healing to his damaged emotions, healing of memories. We learn the following steps from Joseph that led to the healing of his painful memories.

# 1 Share the memory with God.
# 2 Thank God for the gifts and blessings.
# 3 Replace the wound with love.

God stands ready to heal painful memories when we've been hurt. He did it to Joseph. He will and can do the same to you and I.

Story of John Osteen

"Great is to dream the dream, when you stand in youth by the starry stream. But a greater thing is to fight life through, and say at the end that the dream is true." - John Osteen

JOHN OSTEEN, founder of Lakewood Church and father of pastor Joel Osteen (www.joelosteen.com), was a divorced pastor. Here's how his son Joel told about the story of what happened to his father in his bestseller book, "Your Best Life Now:"

"We all make mistakes, but God does not disqualify us simply because we have failed. He's the God of another chance. You may have missed plan A for your life, but God has a plan B, a plan C, a plan D, and a plan E. God will always find a way to get you to your final destination if you will trust Him.

The Old Testament records how King David ordered a man murdered so he could marry his wife. But when David repented, God forgave him and still used him in a greater way.

A man named Saul hated Christians; he chased them down, persecuted them, and had them thrown in jail. Yet God forgave him, changed his name to Paul, and he ended up writing more than half of the New Testament.

Rahab was a prostitute, yet God used her to deliver the children of Israel. Nobody is too far gone, no matter what he's done. You need to know that God still loves you. He has a great plan for your life; He has not run out of mercy. If you have asked His forgiveness, God has already forgiven you. The question is: Will you forgive yourself? Will you quit living in guilt and condemnation? Will you let the past be the past and live today in an attitude of faith and victory?

That is what my father had to do. Daddy went through a tragedy early in life. He married quite young, and unfortunately that wasn't one of his better choices. Sadly, the marriage didn't work out, and he went through a divorce. Daddy was heartbroken. His dreams were shattered and he didn't think he would ever preach again. It was one of the darkest hours of Daddy's life. He was tempted to hold on to the hurt and pain, continually blaming himself. He could easily have allowed his disappointment and disillusionment to keep him from moving forward and fulfiling his God-given destiny.

But Daddy had to quit mourning over what he had lost; he had to learn how to receive God's mercy, and to start believing God for something better.

Maybe you've made some serious mistakes; you've done some things that were not the best for your life, and now you're living in guilt, condemnation, or with a sense of disqualification. You will remain trapped in those doldrums unless you learn how to receive God's mercy and forgiveness, and move on with your life.

That is what my father did. Daddy made a decision to receive God's mercy for his mistakes and failures. And little by little God began to restore Daddy's life and ministry. Daddy began to minister again, but he never dreamed he'd get married again and have another family.

Then one day he met a nurse working at one of the hospitals where he visited some of his church members when they were sick. For my Dad, it was love at first sight. He started looking for any reason he could find to stop by that hospital. I mean, he would visit your great-aunt's third cousin's next-door neighbor if you asked him! He was there so much, my mother told one of her friends, 'That minister has the sickest congregation I've ever seen!' She didn't realize at the time that Daddy was there to see her. To make a long story short, they fell in love and got married. God gave Daddy beauty for his ashes, and Daddy went on to touch the world.

He pastored Lakewood Church in Houston for more than 40 years, and today all five of my parents' children are working in the ministry. God took what the enemy meant for evil, and He turned it around and used it for good. But I don't believe that would have happened if Daddy had stayed trapped in the past, focused on his sadness and disappointments. I don't believe it ever would have happened if Daddy had not learned how to receive God's mercy."

Look Up At The Heavens, Away from the Faces of Idols

Last night, I arrived home from a hotel function. I turned on the television for some global and local news. Instead, there before me were invitations. Strong, enticing come-ons. It's the voice and image of idols. My ability to see God was what's tested during those moments. Would my mind and eyes be focused on the face of these idols? If so, then my ability to see God would be blinded....It happened during Isaiah's time. People had blinded their minds' ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. So Isaiah had to say this to them: "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things ..." (Isaiah 40:26). Isaiah had to make them look up at the heavens, away from the faces of idols.... Today, we got a shopping mall of idols. The blinding idol can be one's self. Work. Money. Sex. Power. Even church ministry. Indeed, the real test of spiritual focus is to be able to bring our minds and thoughts under control by God's Spirit in the face of idols all around us (Romans 12: 1, 2)... So, that night, I had to turn off the television. I had to deliberately turn my eyes and thoughts back to God.

For Your Profit ... After A While

I used to read James Fixx' "The Complete Book of Running" when I was in the university. I was then physically running almost each day for at least an hour to train for chess and basketball competitions. What's amazing is that whenever I felt the tiredness and pain after the running, there'd always follow exhilirating feelings and sparkling glow! Fixx explained the feeling this way: "Such factors as willpower, ability to apply effort during extreme fatigue, and the acceptance of pain -- have a radiating power that subtly influences one's life" (p. 4 of Fixx' book). That sounds familiar! That's exactly the way I feel after being spiritually exercised and built up by God's exercise program in my life. At the time of my personal crises, while there on my knees and in my pain, God was exercising me. He was saying, "For your profit, Angelo, all that happened! If you are to be used by Me in greater ways and in certain areas where I'm sending you, you need to absorb and understand some of these things." Then, I got reminded of a verse in Hebrews: "But He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness" (Hebrews 12:10). There it is. God does exercise us that we might be "partakers of His holiness." Spiritual exercises "produce something in us" when faced with devastating crises and then the great results. "But the God of all grace, who has called us into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you" (1 Peter 5: 10). After a while indeed, we can then wake up alert and sing in the morning and be ready to go!

Blue-Collar or White-Collar Shepherd

In a country like Korea, it can be desirable to be a pastor or "moksanim." It's a high-prestige, resource-rich profession in Korean society. People "bow" at pastors here as if they are gods and it can be tempting to toot your own horn! Prosperity, indeed, is graduate-level test of integrity.

As the scalpel begins to cut into my view of biblical pastoring, i also remember the hundreds of more common "blue-collar shepherds" I've been serving back home and in my international ministry over the years. Most of them face adversity and even persecution. Their life and ministry are simplified to the basics that often test their ability to survive.

Whether blue-collar or white-collar, in adversity or prosperity, the tilt of the neck needs to be the same! Both "kinds" of pastors should look up to see God. He is the judge over all of us. "For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation; but God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another" (Psalm 75: 6, 7). He is the one who gives or takes away. Ultimately, God is the one who raises up or brings down (1 Samuel 2:7, Daniel 2:21). This biblical principle actually does apply to all of us throughout our life journey.

A beautiful example is David. In Psalm 78, God took David as a "blue-collar," humble young shepherd and exalted him to the "white-collar" highest office of the land. David was just counting sheep. He was not wealthy, prodigious, or super-educated. But he was a shepherd with integrity. And once he became "white-collar" king to shepherd God's people, he proved time and time again that he was still a shepherd of integrity (vv. 70, 72 ... "so he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands").

David, the shepherd, says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way" (Psalm 139: 23, 24). That's his secret of integrity. Not because he was always right or spiritually on fire, but because he continually laid his heart bare before God.

What Do You Think of Charles Stanley?

This evening, I think of Charles Stanley. He was faithful. Yet, in 2000, his wife of 44 years just walked away and filed for divorce. He still prays for her to come back.

Large numbers left the church because of this. Radio stations in various areas cancelled his "In Touch" radio program. Various Christian leaders commented that he should be prohibited from further service. But his growing church, First Baptist Atlanta, still accepted him as pastor. And he remained at In Touch radio ministry to the present.

I find that some things are really hard to explain. Many of us may struggle with trying to understand what the Bible says in pastor Stanley's case. But it appears that he had been forced to live out a decision outside of God's design made by his loved one. That decision has placed him where he does not want to be. I can imagine how broken pastor Stanley has been.

Is it possible to have a sorrowful marriage while having a personal character that is above reproach? Well, I think of the prophet Hosea in the Bible. And yes, what about God? You will recall that He had a divorce from the nation Israel (Jer. 3:8)!

Continuing in ministry after the divorce was met with a lot of resistance in pastor Stanley's case. I think of Moses who was a murderer. David was an adulterer and murderer. The apostle Paul probably killed people. Were they still accepted by God to serve Him? Of course, there is always a time for repentance and healing. Yet after that, God sees no longer what a man was but what he now is.

I think of how pastor Stanley felt when even Christians started to judge and reject him. What do you do when the very place where you should receive help or grace is the very place where you get rejected even further? Someone said that the church is the only army that shoots its own soldiers! I think pastor Stanley should not get mad at God's children. They should know better, but they are also human.

I think God's promise to pastor Stanley and the rest of us in Hebrews 13:5 is in effect: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." God plus you is a majority!