I am going through a book called “Choosing
Forgiveness-Your Journey to Freedom” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is an area in my life that I am struggling
with… and this book has been very convicting.
I am going to share only some of the quotes that have impacted my life
as I study this book and my own heart. I
have not been able to completely forgive those who have hurt me… I am a work in
progress but it is my desire to forgive completely. I don’t want to go into the details of the
pain but I would love prayer as I walk through this journey towards
freedom. The quotes in red come from the
book… the rest is my own personal thoughts.
Forgiveness is what we sort of expect from a
God who wouldn't mind going out of His way to be extra nice to us… but it makes
a huge difference when we realize the ground on which our forgiveness was
procured. If we are to forgive others as
God has forgiven us, we need to understand how He forgave us. – Calvary required an agony we cannot fully
comprehend. (On the cross, Jesus took
our sin upon Himself, enduring wrenching consequence of broken fellowship with
the Father)… Forgiveness isn't meant to
be free and easy. It is hard. It is
costly. It is painful..!
** I always knew about the pain that Jesus had to endure
upon the cross… but for some reason I never put two and two together… the pain
He endured on the cross is the same pain that He endured for our forgiveness…
It at times is painful to forgive others… in this broken world we endure pain
and yet even in the midst of that pain we are still called to forgive. The pain doesn't give us an excuse not to
forgive… the rejection doesn't give us an excuse not to forgive… even though it
is hard we are called to forgive.
Whatever crisis you've faced,
whatever has happened in your life to cause unforgiveness well up in your heart, God could have stopped it. But he didn't… If you’re a child of God, the ordeal you’re undergoing, however wrong
or unfair or heartless it may be or may have been, in His providence and
skillful hands will be used to take you somewhere good—deeper into His heart,
to a place of greater dependence and trust, more perfectly refined into the
likeness of Christ.
Only God could see ahead to the
resurrection… and He is the same One who has measured the scope of your pain
and injustice, who closely monitors the depth and length and height of every
trial that every one of His children endures, and who will not allow into your
life a single circumstance that will thwart or derail His eternal, loving plan
for your life.
** God is in control of all things… even the most painful
experiences that we have to deal with.
He could have stopped it… could have changed the outcome… but He didn't. We may never understand why but we can trust that
God is good and loving and He will use these circumstances to draw us closer to
Him and refine us into the likeness of Christ.
** Often times we don’t think we can take any more pain… we
aren't as strong as God thinks we are… that is true… in our own strength we
will fail… but He doesn't leave us alone with our own strength… He is still
with us guiding us through the pain… holding our hand and comforting us. He is our strength..!
So if it seems impossible for you to
forgive this person who has hurt you so deeply—and who perhaps continues to
treat you harshly and unfairly—guess what?
It IS impossible—for you! But
nothing is too difficult for God. And He
is the One who can do the forgiving and reconciling, through you.
*** Lord, you alone can give me the strength to forgive… and
only through You and in Your timing will there be reconciliation… guide me
through this process. Guide everyone
involved through this same process of forgiveness, healing and
reconciliation. Be glorified in us..!
If we feel compelled to forgive
ourselves, mustn't it be an indication that we either doubt God’s forgiveness
of us or that we’re simply unwilling to receive it? If He has forgiven us, our slate is
clean. What more is there to forgive?
*** So very true… how often have we been told that we need
to forgive ourselves… how often have I told others they need to forgive
themselves… but it is God who offers us forgiveness and all we need to do is
accept it. I don’t have to hold onto the
guilt any longer… I don’t have to punish myself… I have been set free.
Is it possible that you are becoming
just like the one who has hurt you? Have
you become a different person, someone you never intended to be, displaying
attitudes and characteristics you detest in others? Is hatred hardening your heart and turning it
to stone?
** Lord, don’t allow bitterness to turn me into someone else…
Lord, don’t let me treat others in an ungodly way… even those who may have hurt
me. Soften my heart to my own sins and
help me to turn from them.
Forgiveness in… forgiveness out…
that’s the way of the cross… the heart of the gospel.
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