Your circumstances can either define you or refine you.
Forgiveness is God’s way of healing the wounds of your past. You forgive so you’re not defined by hurt, but so that you are refined by your circumstances. Forgiveness doesn’t excuse behavior or deny it happened, it becomes your path to freedom. May you find the freedom of forgiveness so the pain of your past can’t define your future. Forgiveness is hard, but in it you find freedom.
Copyright Disclaimer
Due to copyright restrictions from the movies we use in this series, messages from the God and the Movies series are not broadcast or archived for viewing. Audio formats, including our weekly podcast, are also unavailable for this series. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for journeying with us!
Homework
1. Take a look back at Joseph’s story through Genesis 37-50 and remember how not to let your circumstances define you.
2. Read, rest in and remember the scripture below.
3. Pray for the person who wronged you as a step to finding forgiveness for them. Lewis Smedes reminds us; “Forgiving offers the best hope of creating a new fairness out of past unfairness.”
4. Book recommendations: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Art of Forgiving by Lewis Smedes.
