Choosing Forgiveness: Your Journey to Freedom

I did this study about 6 years ago... as I was looking through my studies trying to decide what I wanted to do next... I decided that I should probably do this one again.  I think it was a good choice... I didn't realize how much bitterness I had let sprout back up into my life.  I don't want to hold onto the hurt from the past.. I want to be able to forgive, allow God to heal the pain and move on to whatever He has planned for my future.  I am excited for what the future holds as I go through this study again.  

Quotes & Summary in Black – My thoughts in Red

Foreword & Introduction

 “When we choose to hold on to our grudges, we relinquish control of our future.  We trade the freshness of the new day and all its possibilities for the pain of the past.”

-          Wow, how long have I been living in the pain of the past? I want to trade in the pain of the past for the freshness of the new day.  I want to give up the pain so I can live for today. 

“I would like to be able to tell you that forgiveness doesn’t require such total surrender and relinquishment… so many are dealing with issues that penetrate to the core of their being, so many for whom holding others at arm’s length appears to be the only way to cope… Unfaithful spouses. Neglectful, insensitive parents. Harsh memories of sexual abuse. Rebellious children. Heartless in-laws… I feel like a robot Christian.  I’ve shut God out of my life, and I’m just going through the motions because of all the hurts I’ve endured.”

-          As I read through this book… I see some of my own wounds reflected in the stories.  I have been hurt deeply by people who I thought should have loved me… at the same time I am reminded that we live in a fallen world.  I did this study six years ago and some of the areas that I forgave back then have crept back up… I think partially because when I reached out to one of the people who hurt me the most, she threw it back in my face… multiple times throughout the years.  I was told that she did nothing wrong… nothing that needed to be forgiven and that I was the one in the wrong for everything.  I have let bitterness grow back up… and because of that I am not experiencing all that God has for me. 

“The prevailing mind-set in our culture today leaves us with permission to be coddled, even empowered, in our resentment, our broken relationships, and our unresolved conflicts… but the Word of God makes it clear that the cost of unforgiveness is great.”

2 Cor. 5-11 commands believers to forgive others.  In verse 7 we are commanded to forgive and comfort those who have grieved us.  In verse 11 we find out we are to forgive so that Satan does not take advantage of us.

-          When I choose not to forgive someone who has hurt me not is it a sin, but it allows Satan to be at work in my life.  It is a double whammy because the pain of the offense does not go away but continues to fester… and I cannot experience the peace of God.  I do not want Satan to have any access to my life. 

“Has the clock stopped in your life?  Was there a moment when someone or something hurt you- and everything changed?  Perhaps you can still remember the day, the time, the year, the scenery, the circumstances… Ever since, the story of your life has been to recapture your loss and seek your revenge, either through outright action or the withholding of your love and affection.  God want to give you the grace to move on… He wants to set you free.”

-          Wow, I can remember so many details of the most painful experience.  There is a moment in my life when everything changed.  A before and after experience.  A time period in which I wish I could change what occurred.  I have spent many hours thinking “what if”… but I don’t want to live trying to recapture the loss.  I need to let go of the past.  Lord, help me to move.  Help me to forgive.  Set me free… from the past, the pain, and from holding on to my dreams of what could be.  Help me to live today for Your Glory… and whatever Your have planned for my future. 

“For most of us, the problem isn’t that we don’t know about forgiveness.  The problem is either that we haven’t recognized and acknowledged the unforgiveness that’s in our hearts,  or that we simply haven’t made the choice to forgive.  What you have suffered is real.  You may have endured unspeakable evil treatment at the hands of a close relative- or a trusted friend or a complete stranger.  There may be tender areas of your life that can hardly bear to be touched, due to past-or-present circumstances that you still cannot bring yourself to share with another… forgiveness at its best requires that you face how badly you’ve been hurt… whatever sin has been committed against you, the choice not to forgive is itself a serious sin… failing to forgive can often bring about problems in your life far worse and more long-term than the pain of the original offense.”

-          For the last few years, I don’t think I have recognized the fact that I let unforgiveness and bitterness build back up in my life.  I allowed the hurtful words to take root.  Lord, forgive me once again.  Use this study to open my eyes to any areas of my life that I need to forgive.  I know that there are hurts that only You can heal… help me to forgive even those who don’t think they have done me wrong.  Help me to see areas in my own life that my own attitudes, actions, or words may have hurt others. Change me, mold me, guide me.  

Enjoying my quiet time today...