Daily Devotional for Wednesday, October 28, 2026: You do not have to settle the score

You do not have to settle the score.

¹⁵When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Before he died, your father commanded, ¹⁷‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers, for they did you wrong.’ So now, Joseph, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. ¹⁸His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!” ¹⁹But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people. ²¹Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.

Genesis 50:15–21 · Berean Standard BibleRead the whole chapter ↗

What it meant then

Years earlier Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:26–28). In Egypt, Pharaoh set him over the whole land (41:41–43), and in a famine he brought his whole family to safety (45:4–11; 47:11–12). Now their father Jacob has died and been buried in Canaan (50:1–14). With their father gone, the brothers fear Joseph will pay them back for the evil they did, so they send him a message said to come from Jacob, begging forgiveness. Joseph weeps. His answer gathers up the whole story: what they planned for evil, God planned for good.

For today

Joseph does not pretend nothing happened. He calls it what it was: you intended evil against me. Forgiveness in this story is not saying the wound was small. It is refusing to be the one who pays it back. “Am I in the place of God?” Joseph leaves the score with the only One who can judge it rightly.

Notice what the passage does not say. It does not say the evil was secretly good, or that the brothers’ cruelty was fine because it worked out. And Joseph did not trust them overnight: before he made himself known, he tested whether they had changed (Genesis 42–44). Forgiving someone is not the same as going back to someone who is still hurting you. If that is where you are, talk to someone you trust who can help.

Maybe someone in your family owes you an apology that never came. Or maybe you are the brother, waiting for the blow you think you deserve. Either way, Joseph’s tears and kind words point to the heart of God, who would rather provide for you than repay you. Today, you do not have to settle the score.

Pray

Lord God, you see what was done to me, and you see what I have done to others. I do not want to carry the score any longer. I am not in your place; I give the judging back to you. Where someone meant harm, bring out a good I cannot see yet. Where I have caused harm, give me courage to ask forgiveness. Teach me to speak kindly, as Joseph did. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Try this today

Think of one person you are quietly keeping score against. Today, write down their name, pray Genesis 50:20 over it, and choose one thing you will stop doing to pay them back.

Think about it

Which is harder for you: forgiving someone who hurt you, or believing that someone you hurt has truly forgiven you?

Answer it honestly, in your notebook or with a friend today.