A good memory is an important attribute to develop. The ability to recall what you have learned or experienced in the past can often serve you well in the future. However, there are times when it is best to cultivate the ability to forget.

As we go through life, opportunities to become offended will invariably arise. Whether we are confronted with thoughtless words or unkind acts, each of us will face situations and circumstances that have the potential to hurt, insult, or even devastate us in one way or another. The results of such wounds and offenses can last a lifetime - unless, of course, we choose to forget.

Have you ever met a person who had been offended or who had suffered an injustice from someone years ago, yet that person continued to recall the incident as though it had just happened? Although the incident was past tense, it still affected that person's present state of mind.

But regardless of how painful an experience or how malicious a person may have been toward us, we will only benefit in life if we choose to forget the offense. By setting our expectation upon God and not upon man, we can afford to forget wrongs we have suffered. We know that God is on our side and that He will always cause us to triumph and be victorious in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).

Joseph is an example of a man who was blessed because he chose to forget what he had suffered. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, thrown into prison because of false accusation, and forgotten by someone he had helped in a time of crisis. If anyone ever had sufficient reason to become disillusioned, depressed, and bitter, it was Joseph. But in the midst of great persecution and personal distress, Joseph didn't become bitter; Joseph became better.

Joseph allowed the fiery trial of persecution to burn away the impurities in his own soul. Instead of constantly thinking on the wrong others had done, Joseph busied himself with doing what was right. And the scriptures tell us that whatever he did prospered because "...the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour..." (Gen. 39:21).

In the midst of his suffering, Joseph maintained strong fellowship with God. He continued to sharpen both his natural skills of organization and administration, as well as his spiritual skill of interpretation - explaining the divine will of God through dreams.

When Joseph was finally summoned by Pharaoh to assume the position he was destined to occupy, Joseph was better equipped to fulfill that role than he would have been when he first dreamed of it. But Joseph would not have been so well - equipped and qualified had he chosen to hold a grudge against those who had mistreated him.

We hinder ourselves from making progress in the future when we allow ourselves to become enslaved by remembering the past. But we put ourselves in position for God to promote His plan in our lives when we forget the past. For example, Joseph chose to look beyond his suffering to behold the glory God had promised.

Consequently, all that God had promised Joseph did indeed come to pass. After Pharaoh appointed Joseph the ruler of his kingdom, Joseph said, "...For God...Hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house...God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Gen. 41:51-52).

When Joseph's brothers discovered his identity, they became fearful that he would seek vengeance. But Joseph revealed the character his sufferings had forged. Joseph displayed character that qualified him for the task appointed him when he said, "...be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me.... God sent me before you...to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God..." (Gen 45:5, 7-8).

It may not seem easy to forget a heartache, a false accusation, or an unkind act. But you can forget the wrong which men commit against you when you remember the good God has performed for you.

David, too, was a man well acquainted with disappointment and persecution. But in Psalm 103:1 and 2, David gives us an example of what we should not forget: "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

Despite persecution or perhaps even personal failure, we can follow the example of Joseph and David. We can emerge victorious from any test or trial by choosing to forget the pain caused by men and choosing rather to remember the blessings of God.

Source: From a Pastor's Heart by Kenneth E. Hagin. Jr.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications