Living in Hurt

Let’s face it: if you have lived some part of your life, you’ve gotten hurt. So what do you do about it? How does it help you?

Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. [4] When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. - Genesis 37:3-4 NIV

Reflection

So, we have a story of hurt throughout Joseph's life—a story about hurt from all sides and a story that demonstrates what staying in faith can do.

I call Joseph the “Technicolor Dream Coat Guy” because there was a play based on him, and I don’t want to confuse anyone with Jesus's earth father.

The story of Joseph is very interesting. It’s one of those profound messages from God through the life of someone who loved God. But what a journey for Joseph to reach the destination where faith and love intersect.

Talk about starting, to no fault of your own, becoming the source of hurt for others by the actions of another. Jacob loves Joseph so much that he decides to make it clear to his other children. Wait what? That’s unfair. Joseph doesn’t help matters, though. As a teenager, he tells not just his brothers about his dreams but also his parents. Let’s get it out that Joseph, as a teenager, tells his family at some point, they will all be bowing down to him. Excuse me! Can we blame the reaction of the family? How is it that this little punk that Dad loves best can even suggest such a thing? However, they didn’t have to take their hurt or act out. But they did. They sell Joseph into slavery and tell their Dad that Joseph is dead. Talk about taking their hurt and hurting back! You wouldn’t blame Joseph if he wanted to repay them, either. Heck, if Jacob ever finds out that the brothers lied, wouldn’t he want to take action against them? Hurt and hurt and hurt!

What can we learn from it? We all have a story, and it is hard to imagine that we aren't all a little dinged up. It's what we do about the ding that matters. If we use Joseph (maybe the post-teenager version) as a model, we dig into faith and trust that God will use what we are going through for good. How can you dwell on the hardship if its outcome turns into something good? No doubt that is the story of Joseph. He loves God so much he wouldn't insult Him by even thinking he should get revenge on his brothers. Well not really. Might have toyed with them a bit.

Now, did Joseph really see this coming? Did he know that staying faithful to God would produce such an outcome? I sincerely doubt it. I believe he had no other place to turn. His family rejects him. He makes the best of it. As a result, he gets more and more; however, he is alone, and where else can he turn to but God? Sure, he had some friends. But you got to feel like that early hurt had to smart for a bit. Being falsely accused and tossed in jail. That had to smart. But heck, at the end of the road, he was placed into a moment to reflect on faith and commitment to God; that is something for us to pay attention to. Perhaps learn from.

We all live in hurt. The question is, do you live, or do you exist? We need to choose to live and not suppress our hurts but look beyond them. They are part of us. We can't change history. We can certainly learn and decide to do something with that knowledge. We need to live forward. Today is all we have right now. Making the most of it is probably the best thing we can do.

I hope the hurts you have are not holding you back. They inform who you have become but do not define you. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t grieve; perhaps you should reflect now and again, but you shouldn't remain in that hurt. You must move beyond it to see where God will take you next. It hurts, right? Why stick around there if it is possible that you can get to a different place where it simply doesn’t hurt as much or perhaps at all?

If that is the case, isn't it time to take the trials and tribulations, the behaviors that hold us back, and perhaps the pity party tendencies and move on? After all, how is that working out? Joseph kept making do in his situations and, with eyes and heart on God, came to a place where his legacy was worth remembering. It doesn’t matter why or how you center on God. It matters that you do. As the song goes, "I want to live like that and give it all I've got."

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for every aspect of my life. Though I might not enjoy reflecting on some of the more challenging seasons, I trust your plan. Help me appreciate the good in what I have been given, to be humbled in Your lessons and wise in Your teachings, and to be a reflection of Your grace. I ask all of this in Your son, my savior, Jesus.