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The man said, "They have left here, for I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' " Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan. They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, "Behold, this dreamer comes. Come now therefore, and let's kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, 'An evil animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams." Genesis 37:17–20 WEB.

Joseph had it all and was his father's favorite son. God had given him dreams that he would be a ruler one day. His father had given him an ornate coat of many colors, and Joseph was a wealthy prince. Yea, Joseph's life should have been great, but his brothers were very jealous of him.

Most of Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him. Reuben tried to save him and got him thrown into an empty well. The only thing that stopped them from killing Joseph was his brother Judah who said: "after all, he is our brother, our own flesh." So the brothers made a compromise and sold Joseph as a slave to some traveling merchants.

Joseph was just a boy, and he had no control over what happened. He was only doing what his father had told him. It was not his fault that bad things were done to him by others, even his loved ones, his immediate family. Joseph was not at fault, and his father still loved him dearly. Yet, Joseph went from being a prince, to a dark pit, to being a slave, then was falsely accused of attempted rape and served time in prison.

Joseph's life went into a downward spiral, and he went through some very dark times, but thankfully his story doesn't end there. Eventually, Joseph became the ruler of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. All those dreams that God had given him came true.

When people are abused as a child, they often blame themselves. But what happened to you when you were young was not your fault. You had no control over that. So lay it down. Like Joseph, forgive, and in doing so, you will free yourself as well. Don't let things that happened years ago that you had no control over drain your energy and strength today. Your Heavenly Father loves you, and He wants you to focus on your future, not your unchangeable past.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You that I am still breathing today. Please help me follow the dreams that You have given me. Bring them back to my memory and inspire me with a fresh vision. Make what is important to You important to me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: Welcome to Christmas Eve :)! May you all have a peaceful day and know always that we are grateful for each of you! If you have a prayer need, we and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network. If you are interested in joining the prayer team, here is how to get started Prayer Partners.