Welcome to One Minute Scripter Study, a Come Follow Me podcast.

We are your host, Kristen Walker-Smith and Kelly Black.

Hey friend, it's Kristen. Grab your scriptures, and let's dive into Genesis 42, verse 21.

Now, how long does guilt last? A day, a month, a year?

Well, for Joseph's brothers, it lasted 22 years. It had been

that long since they sold Joseph into slavery. And now 22 years later, Joseph's brothers

came to Egypt to get food for their family during a famine. Joseph recognized his brothers

immediately, but he kept his identity secret. He told

his brothers they had to travel home and return with their younger brother Benjamin before

they could have food. The brothers assumed their father would never agree and their families

would starve, and they said, quote, we are verily guilty concerning our brother Joseph, in that we

saw the anguish of his soul when

he besought us, and we would not hear.

Therefore, is this distress come upon us?

Twenty-two years after they had committed a grievous sin, it was the first thing that

popped into their minds as the reason for their trial.

These brothers would have been much better off if they had told

their father as soon as they realized what they'd done was wrong. They then could have sought out

the people to whom Joseph had been sold and taken steps to bring him home. But instead, these brothers

spent decades allowing guilt to eat away at their souls. This verse is a powerful reminder that the

only way to get rid of guilt for our sins

is to repent of them. Time only makes the guilt worse. So the takeaway of the day in five words

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