Dream to DestinySample

Day 5: The Pardon Test

What would it be like to narrowly escape being murdered by your brothers—only to have them sell you as a slave into a lifetime of bondage and degradation? That is Joseph’s story, and he certainly had valid reasons to feel betrayed and abused!

Joseph could have spent endless nights consumed by bitterness, replaying in his mind the horror of what had been done to him. Yet he didn’t do that. Instead, Joseph decided to forgive.

How do we know? Because we’re told “the Lord was with Joseph,” and he prospered in everything he did (Genesis 39:2–3). If Joseph had been walking in unforgiveness, the blessing and presence of God would not have been with him, and that would have kept him from stepping into the destiny God had prepared for him all along.

This is the Pardon Test, and all of us will have to face it. Like Joseph, everyone must deal with hurtful relationships and wrong or malicious behavior. It can be easy to forgive when the offense is minor, but what about when it’s major? Like being sold into slavery by your brothers? Yet Joseph passed the Pardon Test with flying colors.

Genesis 50:15–21 is the very first time the word “forgive” is used in the Bible. This word in Hebrew means to “absolve fully” or “release from punishment.” Most of the time it’s not translated as “forgive” but rather “bear up” or “lift up.”

That’s exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did with all our sins. He bore them. He lifted them off us (see Isaiah 53:6–12). That’s what the word “forgive” really means. It means to take a burden off someone completely and release that person. It does not mean to take only part of it off or help them carry it. It means to lift it off entirely.

Now think about this: Is that how you’re forgiving other people? Are you releasing, absolving, and pardoning them fully and freely, as God does? That is true forgiveness. To step into your destiny, you must forgive the same way God has forgiven you.

A popular analogy compares holding unforgiveness in your heart to drinking poison and hoping it will hurt the other person. But the reality is that you are the only one who will get hurt! Unforgiveness causes you to live in torment.

Through Jesus, God has provided forgiveness for every sin we have ever committed or will commit. And when we receive His forgiveness, we can give it to others, no matter how traumatic and awful the situation may be. We can forgive others as He has forgiven us. He asks, “Will you forgive the same way I have forgiven you? Will you release that person fully and freely? Will you let it go?”

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Was this plan helpful? We adapted this plan from Dream to Destiny by Robert Morris.

To learn more about all ten character-building tests on the road to your destiny, order the book at dreamtodestiny.com.