One of the hardest things to do in life is to forgive someone who intentionally hurts you, especially if that person is a family member or a close friend or a church person or someone who should be loving and protecting you. Forgiveness is really hard in these cases.

It was hard for Joseph. Joseph had 11 crummy brothers who sold him into slavery and ruined the early years of his life. (Genesis 37-50)

It was also hard for Wess Stafford. Wess is the president of Compassion International. He spent five years of his childhood in a boarding school in Africa where the staff members abused him physically, emotionally, and sexually. These people traumatized and terrorized him from the age of 6-10.

Forgiveness is hard. Yet both of these men eventually forgave the evil people who had victimized them. They did not want to be defined by the hurt or victimized by a long standing bitter spirit. They wanted to move and and be free. So they forgave.

The best part is that God used the hurt in both cases for greater good. Joseph landed in Egypt and eventually became the food baron of the world: a role that enabled him to save the lives of many people. Wes Stafford's experiences as a child stirred a passion in his heart for defending vulnerable children. He now leads an organization that champions children living in poverty and oppression.

Creating good out of evil is one of God's specialties. In the words of Joseph: the evil people meant it for harm, but God used it for good. (Genesis 50.20)

It helps to know that God can transform any hurt in our lives for something good.

How might God use your pain?

PS... check out Wes Stafford's account of how he forgave his abusers at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbGnex_HJuk