Tag: letting go

Forgiveness

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture2 Comments

Forgiving others is hard, mainly because it is not a once and done thing for us. We have to continually forgive every time the thought comes to our mind about an offense. Forgiveness is a choice that we make each time, not a “I will just think about it later” kind of thing. You know who I have a hard time forgiving? Anyone and everyone who has ever hurt me or one of my children in any way. That means that there are a lot of reminders in my spiritual life to forgive and keep on forgiving. Jesus made sure we were assured forgiveness from the Father, but it is up to each of us to forgive others daily, all day long.

The enemy of our soul wants us to hang on to the burden of hurts and the desire for revenge. That old self really wants payback. But God says He is the one who will avenge us if we will just step back and be still. Part of being still and trusting God is to let go of the heartache we feel from whatever pain the offense caused and to choose to forgive. We cannot forget because that isn’t part of our human nature. But we can choose to forgive each time the offense comes to our mind. I say things like, “This is hard, Lord, but I am choosing to forgive. Help me to let it go and to truly love this person the way you love them.” There is no magical formula for what to say when you forgive someone; you just have to say what is on your heart and really leave it at the foot of the cross.

Forgiveness doesn’t hurt the other person because they generally either don’t care or they are unaware of how you feel. Unforgiveness is a bitter root that starts growing in your heart, and if you water and nurture it with your anger and refusal to forgive, then it will destroy you from the inside out. It can destroy your mental health, your physical health and your spiritual well-being. God knows that we need to forgive for our own good.

There are lots of scriptures about forgiveness. If you are having difficulty with the very idea of letting go of the bitterness and anger resulting from how a person hurt you, I recommend that you memorize verses about forgiveness, meditate on them and ask God to help you to forgive. It is His will, so that’s a prayer that He will answer if you just ask.

Undeserved: You Version Daily Devotional

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

Undeserved

When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…

They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.

They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.

And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:

“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:15‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬

Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)

God’s ways might not always be easy, but they can always be trusted. 

When we choose unforgiveness, hate and anxiety and bitterness will likely take root. But when we choose forgiveness (even though we might need to consider new boundaries), love and peace and reconciliation can flourish.

So, what about you? Have you ever been mean? Have you been selfish? Talked behind someone’s back? Broke a vital promise? Lied, criticized, or ignored? Have you ever decided to give up and walk away?

In our unique-to-us ways, we’ve all let someone down. We’ve disregarded God’s instructions and, instead, created our own instructions. We’ve messed up.

We deserve God’s wrath but, instead, He’s offered us His unconditional love. 

Because of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, we didn’t get what we deserve. And even while hanging on that cross, breathing His last earthly breaths, He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Jesus repaid our evil with extreme mercy, leaving us free to conquer evil with good. So today, let’s honor His sacrifice by treating others the way He treated us.

My Thoughts

All of us have sought ways to “get back” at someone who has hurt us, or even worse to do something to someone else before they can do something mean to us. That is part of our sin nature, but it isn’t attractive and it certainly doesn’t show people the Jesus living inside you. I have spent years now trying to get control of my anger against others and letting go of the hurts and bitterness that follow that quest for revenge. God is a God of love, mercy and forgiveness, not revenge. Yes, He metes out justice…but HE metes out justice. That is not my monkey, not my circus.