Let God be the judge

This morning during my time with God I was reading in Genesis 50. It's the well known and loved story of Joseph. After his brothers had sold him into slavery and all the terrible things that happened to him over many years he ended up being reunited with his brothers. That went well but then his father dies and his brothers are afraid so they send a message saying that their dad had directed Joseph to forgive them. Something in Joseph's response caught my attention today:

But Joseph told them, "Don't be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? As far as I am concerned God turned into good what you meant for evil.
Genesis 50:19-20A (NLT)

Typically as I read these words, I delight in the fact that God took what was meant for evil and turned it into good. Today Joseph's phrase asking if he is God to judge caught my attention.

Recently I had a really bad situation at work. I'd worked for a company for 9yrs and they had been extremely happy with me. I tend to be focused and results driven, good to my staff, and give a lot to my work. I'd turned one of the company's facilities around that had been losing money. The company was liking me. Then some situations and key people changed and two of those key people do business very differently than me. I have some ethical issues with their manner of doing things. One of them set out to harm me and my reputation, and the other was supportive of it. My boss who I've worked with for 5yrs, who had always been appreciative of me in the past, is very close with both these people. The bottom line of it all was that, for the first time ever in my entire life, I was terminated from my job. It was devastating.

Perhaps this event is what turned my attention to Joseph's words about how it is for God to judge and punish, not him. Joseph was very clear and very aware of who had what job.

I too want to live my life leaving God's part to Him and focusing on what is mine to do.

I want to remain free of judgment and live in today. I want to live in today loving God; praising Him for His greatness, noticing and thanking Him for all He's given me, enjoying the beauty around me. I want to love the people around me; go out of my way to do good things for them, be sensitive to what is going on with the people in my life, loving those in my life in ways that are real and meaningful.

Do you have any situations where you need to let go and let God be judge? How would this change your life?