"Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you? "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
"People are like rattlesnakes they strike out at the warmest and closest things to them."
Doug Baggs
If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven if there was anything to forgive -- I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not out wit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
I love this verse, notice the part "if there was anything to forgive." Could this mean forgiveness should be an automatic response in us because Christ lives in us? Most likely it means that perhaps the person who did something against us didn't really mean to hurt or offend us and we just allowed Satan to outwit us. In the Journey of You it is important to remember that God loves us and the person who has hurt us. It is also important to remember when someone really does something to us we didn't deserve that if we don't forgive them, they are held in bondage as well as us. Release them and yourselves through praying and asking God to forgive them.
Hebrews 12:15 says, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."Bitter roots run deep and sometimes grow for years. They crop up sometimes when we least expect them and we strike out because something stirs it up and it raises its' ugly head. Ask God to deliver you from any bitter root that has taken hold from past hurts, sins and traumas. Resentment and anger is a good sign that you have a bitter root.
One way for me to deal with my resentment is to acknowledge the suffering of the other person. Whenever I am hurt, I perceive the other person as strong, and myself as weak. But when I am willing to consider the other person's individual history with struggle and agony, I can prevent myself from judging too harshly or making a final angry statement about their behavior. Henri Noumen
Significant acts of forgiveness entail letting go of a precious story we tell about ourselves, risking the awareness of a larger less-justifying truth...owning up means getting past one's defensiveness. It means stepping out of the blaming system, in which one person has to be not only wrong but also the bad one. Robert Karen, O Magazine, February 2001
In closing, let us look today to the precious story about Jesus. He is coming back soon for His bride. Will you be ready and is He a top priority in the Journey of You? I have to ask myself this question daily. I am ashamed to say, that some days I do fail to be rightly adorned and ready for His coming. The good news is Christ is ALWAYS ready for us to repent and come back to Him and wait eagerly for His return for us!
