God Has Made Me Forget All My Hardship
This passage hit in a new way this go around through the Bible.
“Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”” Genesis 41:51 ESV
As someone who has walked some hard roads, and gone through my share of messes. Many of which I played a hand in creating. But others I was impacted by the decisions of others. This passage read differently this time.
You see I read one passage every morning while drinking my coffee to start the day. I have been doing this for many many years now. Such that I have read the Bible cover to cover multiple times, including entirely through different versions (eg. ESV, KJV, NIV)
It's wild how The Lord manages to work with you, in whatever ways you read the Bible. Doesn't matter whether you read it straight like a book, or if you do plans, or verse of the day.
God Plays Chess Backwards
He will weave what you're reading into your situation, regardless. You cannot avoid it, because you cannot outsmart The Lord. haha
But anyways, back to the passage.
You see it hit differently this time reading it. This time the "forget" part got me. Because it reminded me that when you heal, you stop being anxious or hurt by the past. And you can even move forward, without the past haunting you throughout the future.
This could be very different for people:
- Perhaps you can continue to work happily with a coworker who betrayed you previously. While you obviously wouldn't trust them again. You forget about the pain they caused and can now work without the pain hitting you every day you see them.
- Perhaps you can shattered a leg bone rock climbing and you've been scared to try rock climbing again. God can bring you to a place where that past hurt is forgotten, truly forgotten, allowing you to try again
- Perhaps you weren't the best parent to your child when they were growing up. But now both you and your child have forgotten those days and become close again.
The Lord can bring two people back together, or a family back together, and give them the grace and ability to actually forget what happened before. Actually forget. Forget such that you don't think about it every day, every week anymore. You just get to enjoy today and the future with them forever more.
God is that Good
He did it before, He will do it again