(Totally stole this idea from my husband. He's okay with it.)

 

At the tail end of Genesis, after the death and burial of Jacob, Joseph's brothers are seized by fear. What if he decides to repay them for selling him into slavery all those years ago? Their fear consumes them to the point that they send messengers to Joseph to beg for his forgiveness again. Joseph was grieved by this and he responded with words of comfort and kindness.

 

Here's the thing. Joseph forgave his brothers seventeen years earlier. They had lived off his grace and provision for them all that time. They had experienced and thrived under it. But it still seemed too good to be true. They "knew" it couldn't last.

 

Grace and forgiveness are hard to accept, hard to grasp, and not just for Joseph's brothers. How often do we live in fear of God, who forgave us and clearly demonstrated that? We beg for forgiveness for sins God has forgotten. We live in His grace, but with constant glances over our shoulders, sure that He's bound to figure out we don't deserve it. ) We don't deserve it. That's what makes it grace.)

 

We don't have to live in fear. The other shoe won't drop. The rug won't be yanked out from under us. God speaks words or kindness and comfort to us. "I have called you by name. You are mine." His grace is eternal. His love is limitless. His promises unbreakable.