Forgetting and
Fruitfulness
Genesis 41:51-53 And
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath
made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. 52 And
the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be
fruitful in the land of my affliction. (KJV)
Note the meaning of the names that Joseph gave to his sons
and there order. Manasseh means "caused
to forget." Ephraim means "fruitfulness." First he was caused to forget. Second he was caused to be fruitful. Sometimes to come into a place of
fruitfulness we have to forget some of the things that have happened in the
past. Sometimes things from the past
both good and bad can get in the way of pressing on into what God has for
us. Perhaps there is some baggage from
your past that has kept you from being fruitful. I think each one of us need to
seek the Lord to see if there are things we need to forget, so we can move
forward into the place of fruitfulness God has for us.
Note also that it says “God hath made me to forget” and “God
hath caused me to be fruitful.”
Forgetting and being fruitful require letting God do the work within us. It requires our submission to Him and
cooperation with Him. Sometimes it is a quick work and sometimes it is a process. Sometimes progress is made in large steps and sometimes in tiny steps. The important thing is to continue moving forward.
Phil 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus
Forgetting is not just pretending that something did not happen and just tuck it away somewhere in your subconscious, where we don't think about it. It inolves forgiving and/or letting God heal the wound of the event so that it has no more pain or power within us. For example Joseph still remembered what his brothers had done, but it no longer had power over him. He had truly forgiven his brothers and had allowed God to heal the pain. Joseph had come to the place of seeing how God had taken this painful event in his life and used it for the good of his entire family, for nation of Israel.
Genesis 45:4-5 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Genesis 50:19-21 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
Phil 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus
Forgetting is not just pretending that something did not happen and just tuck it away somewhere in your subconscious, where we don't think about it. It inolves forgiving and/or letting God heal the wound of the event so that it has no more pain or power within us. For example Joseph still remembered what his brothers had done, but it no longer had power over him. He had truly forgiven his brothers and had allowed God to heal the pain. Joseph had come to the place of seeing how God had taken this painful event in his life and used it for the good of his entire family, for nation of Israel.
Genesis 45:4-5 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Genesis 50:19-21 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
