OMTL day 10 Ocean

Today’s chapter from the section, Love Completely, was on Forgiveness.  This was a difficult chapter for me.  For the most part, I really don’t hold grudges.  I’ve always thought of myself as someone who forgives pretty readily.  A few years ago I think that changed for me.  I was hurt deeply by people that I trusted and really thought a lot of.   When I was reading this chapter today, it said read the Lord’s Prayer and think about the part that says, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Think about that statement, do I really want God to forgive me the same way I forgive those who have wronged me?  I know how important it is to forgive so that bitterness doesn’t set in.  I even tried to bargain with God that the part about forgiving our trespassers, shouldn’t apply in my case.  I told God when I tell Him I’m sorry for something, I really mean it and I really try hard not to do it again.  Those people that hurt me aren’t even sorry, they haven’t said sorry and they would hurt me over again if they could.  The book said today, “Someone once wisely observed that to forgive is to set a prisoner free and to discover the prisoner was you.”  When we harbor unforgiveness, it turns into bitterness and that bitterness will destroy you.   Bitterness blocks the blessings God wants to pour into your life.  It doesn’t really matter if the people who hurt me are sorry or not, I need to forgive them.  I can’t change them, that’s not my job, that’s between them and God.  God has a power that I don’t have, that’s a power to forgive and forget.  I must choose to forgive and move on with what God has for me.  God has forgiven me for so many things that He could hold me accountable for.  He gave His only Son, so that I could be forgiven.  I really don’t deserve that kind of complete love.  I have to realize that people are just people, they will disappoint us and they will hurt us.  We can all be deceived by Satan.  He is the enemy, not the people in our lives that hurt or disappoint us.   Someone said tonight in Growth Group that some people just can’t give you what you need.  We cannot stay mad with those people because they are incapable of giving us what we need from them. 

I’m not saying it’s easy, or that it will happen over night, but I am saying that we must choose to forgive those who have hurt us if we want to have joy and peace in our own lives.  In our own power we can’t do this, it is a God thing to be able to forgive someone that you feel has wronged you.  Sometimes it can be a daily prayer, “God help me to focus on your love and your forgiveness and help me to forgive others today, just as you have forgiven me.”