You'll Get Through This by Max Lucado
Week 8: Chapter 7 — Sidetracked by Bitterness
Read Chapter 7 of You'll Get Through This. Primary Scripture: Genesis 42–43; Hebrews 12:15.
Previewing Week 8 of You'll Get Through This
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
When Joseph's brothers arrive in Egypt seeking food, Joseph is now the most powerful man in the room — and his choice in that moment reveals whether the years of suffering made him bitter or better.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Joseph's brothers arrive in Egypt not knowing it is Joseph they are speaking to. Lucado reflects on what it must have felt like for Joseph to see them — the people who threw him in the pit, who sold him for twenty pieces of silver. What emotions do you imagine Joseph felt in that moment?
2.Hebrews 12:15 warns about a 'root of bitterness' that grows up and defiles many. Lucado describes bitterness not as an emotion but as a decision — a choice to keep reopening a wound rather than allowing it to heal. Do you agree that bitterness is a choice? Why or why not?
3.Lucado distinguishes between righteous anger (acknowledging real wrong) and corrosive bitterness (letting that wrong define and consume us). Where is that line for you? How do you know when you've crossed from honest grief into destructive bitterness?