Genesis 50:15-21 – “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!” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, 17’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 of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 “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. 21 “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”

I guess if you only read this part of the entire story of the “Life of Joseph,” you might think that the old saying, “Time heals all wounds,” was accurate, but if you read the entire story, you will see something you probably missed. 

In this brief devotional, I hope to point you to a “higher revelation” that Time Heals Nothing!  Yet, there is the opportunity for the Total Healing of the Total Man in the Finished Work of Jesus and His Unconditional Love!

I suggest that “time” outside the Finished Work of Christ is an enemy, not a friend.  I ask that you hear the conclusion of the whole matter before rendering a judgment on what I am saying. That will require you to go back and reread much of the history of Joseph and Israel in the Bible.  It will take time, but it will be an exciting and beneficial journey. 

I hope to enable each of us somehow to see “How” to live our everyday life in the Unconditional Love of God amidst all the “Hurts, Beatings, Wounds, Fears, and Anxieties of Life.”  I am talking about Total Freedom and Total Healing for the Total Man.  Many do not even believe that is possible, much less possess it.  My question is, “Are you interested in Total Freedom?”

Let Us Consider a Brief Background.

Remember the story of the Kid Joseph with his special treatment by his father, his dreams, and visions; you will recall how horribly mistreated he was by his brothers to the point that they “sold him” as a slave while fabricating a story of his death to their father. 

Once Joseph arrived in Egypt, he received promotion after promotion and problem after problem until he was elevated to Second in Command. Years later, we come to the timeframe of our text, and his brothers stand before him in fear and trembling. 

They were petrified because the “boy” they had sold into slavery was not the second most powerful man on earth as they knew it and held their lives in his hands.  What if he holds a grudge, as they were optimistic, he would? 

They expected him to get even.  Then their father, Jacob, died, and they fabricated a story to tell Joseph to save their hides. Joseph responded by basically saying, “Do you realize what you are saying?  You are afraid I will Get Even!  Am I in God’s place?  Oh, I know what you did to me!  You meant it for “evil,” but God meant it for “good.”  That is Incredible!  How would you have responded?

The key, I believe, is that long before Joseph arrived in Egypt, he handled this.  I mean, he settled it with God.  If you study the timeline of his life, you will realize that he likely heard the story of Abraham from his grandfather Isaac while sitting on his knee. 

He had heard the Story of Covenant from his youth and knew God!  Moreover, he trusted God and knew that for God to fulfill His Promises, God would take care of Him so He could curl up in the Unconditional Love of God and Forgive!  He was able to release his anger, the pain, and any bitterness he had, and I believe he did it before he got to Egypt, or he would have died a bitter old man in slavery in Egypt, and we would never have heard of him again.

It was not time but Love that Healed Him!  Time only affords us the time to become calloused to the wound and live through the pain. It never removes it completely. Only love, forgiveness, and releasing it can do that.  So, if you are dealing with something and hoping that “Time will heal it,” turn it loose and run to the arms of God and His love.  It is there that there is Healing!

May God be with you as you go through your day!