“Now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers became fearful and thought,
"Suppose Joseph has been nursing a grudge against us and now plans to pay us back in full for all the wrong we did him!" So they approached Joseph and said:
"Before your father died, he gave us these instructions: 'You shall say to Joseph, Jacob begs you to forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers, who treated you so cruelly.' Please, therefore, forgive the crime that we, the servants of your father's God, committed." When they spoke these words to him, Joseph broke into tears. Then his brothers proceeded to fling themselves down before him and said, "Let us be your slaves!" But Joseph replied to them: "Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. Therefore have no fear.” -Genesis 50:15-20
Forgiving is made easier when we adopt the attitude of Joseph. God does not cause tribulation to befall us but rather uses it to strengthen us, teach us, and draw us closer to Him. Joseph understood that God placed him exactly where He needed to be. Joseph understood that had there been no assault against him, the good that followed would have never been. I’m often asked if I’ve forgiven the woman who caused my accident. I look at my life now, and how I’ve been awakened to the presence of the Lord, and I know that much good came from her actions. She placed me exactly where God needed me to be, so how could I not forgive her?