Here Is What To Do When People Lie About You?

Gen. 50:20 - "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." 
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• Evil From A Family Member

Can you remember a time in your life when someone lied about you? Or they planned to do some other type of hurtful thing to you? 

It might have been done by a person who you considered your friend, a teammate, a co-worker, or a family member. They deliberately tried to get you into trouble.

In the above text, Joseph is saying these words to his brothers.

What can be worse than having your flesh and blood do something evil to you? 
 
Joseph's brothers had sold him to the Ishmaelites (Gen.37:27) who in turn would sell him to the Egyptians. 

• Family Lies

The brothers would return to Jacob, their father, and purposefully deceive him.  Yes, some people will indeed do some very mean, wicked, and cruel things not only to their siblings but to people they work with or people who are considered friends. 

How can one handle this type of treatment by family members or so-called friends?
 
I think the answer comes right after Joseph tells his brothers "…you meant evil against me, BUT God meant it for good." 

• God Can Change Evil

God used Joseph to be sold into slavery for the good. Whatever evil someone has planned against us we need to keep in mind that God can use this for something good. 
 
That doesn't mean it will be beautiful for us to endure. It most likely will have times of extreme pain and mental anguish, BUT God can take the ugliness that is done to us and turn it into a masterpiece.

All we have to do is stay faithful and keep believing God can bring beauty out of something that is considered hurtful. This is a challenge that God is letting you experience because He has faith in you. He believes you will become a person of greater integrity after this trial.

So the real question here is this: Can you hang in there while God turns the negative into something positive?

When you read the story of Joseph it gets worse for him before it gets better. He is going to be wrongfully accused by his boss' wife. She said he was trying to seduce her. When the truth was he was running away from her advances. He will be thrown in jail because of the lies she told about him.
 
In the passage below read what Joseph endured and how he was in return blessed by God.

Ps.105:17 - He sent a man before them, 
        Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 
              18 They afflicted his feet with fetters, 
       He himself was laid in irons; 
              19 Until the time that his word came to pass, 
       The word of the Lord tested him. 
              20 The king sent and released him, 
       The ruler of peoples, and set him free. 
              21 He made him lord of his house 
       And ruler over all his possessions, 
 
God sees the evil that we are faced with every day. That is why He has given us His Word and the Holy Spirit to help us overcome some of the injustices of life we all face at one time or another.

Ps. 25:2-3 says, "O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed."  

The challenge for us today is to become more like Joseph and strengthen our TRUST in the LORD.
 
Think About These:

When things get rough, remember: It is the rubbing that brings out the shine.

The best way out of difficulty is through it.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word