I have learned in the past two years of my life that I enjoy ballroom dancing. My favorite dances are Salsa, Cha Cha, Bachata, and Meringue.
It is not easy and requires much patience and practice. But as I continue to do the dances I can see that I am getting better and better. One of the most important parts of ballroom dancing is to have a good dancer to lead the woman. This man is to have the confidence and character that can make any woman look good on the dance floor and I mean any woman. My friend described it to me so well one night. She said you can compare it to relationships. The man is to lead his wife. But to do this he needs Confidence, good character and strength. It is his job to make his wife shine. I feel when you have a great partner when you are dancing he can lead you and he will make you shine on the dance floor and make you feel like a princess for that 3 minutes of a song.
But I know for certain someone else who is is strong enough to lead anyone if we let him. God wants to shower us with his love and be the Heavenly father that you will ever know. His character is described in Psalm 136:1-For he is good,for his steadfast love endures forever.
I can compare the relationship to dancing. I remember when I was dancing one night my partner for that one particular dance told me to never look down at my feet, and I said " I still do because I am not confident in my dancing just quite yet. He told me you can be Trisha, you are Great, and you just have to believe it!!!Now I heard this before from other partners on other nights but that night I decided I was not going to look down at my feet again and then I was confident.
This is how God looks at us. He sees us right where we are and he sees the potential in us and he is confident that we can shine like stars in the universe to show his love to the world. Philippians 2:15. He is just waiting for us to make that decision to have the confidence to believe him and trust him. Times will come such as trials, difficulties, temptations that will at times make you feel like giving up. But this is part of the walk with God into molding us into the people he wants us to be. Its not supposed to be easy. We are not guaranteed blessings in this life. Never give up... Just like I am getting better at dancing. It takes time, patience, and I make mistakes.The people that God is molding us to be will take a life time. We are masterpieces in progess. It is his hope that he can show his love through our lives. Everything that happens he will work for good. Romans 8:28
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
God's Word
Let me begin my entry with the first verse and chorus of a song that spoke to me about God's word. The song is from Casting Crowns and is called "The Word is Alive". The word is alive and it cuts like a sword through the darkness with a message of light to the hopeless and afraid, breathing Life into all who believe.
This best describes how I felt when my eyes were opened and I started following God and reading his word.I felt alive again with a hope that I cannot put into words. The word to me is the most timeless piece of literature I have ever read. As the years go by and I continue to read it, there are timeless truths that I am learning to apply to my life. Some people will say times have changed and therefore the culture and world have changed. People will say the bible is antiquated and not useful for the present.
The word speaks to every area of my life: Love,work,children,wisdom,character,being a good citizen,helping the needy,relationships,money, etc.
Isaiah 40:8 says the grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. I agree the times, culture and the world have changed. But God's word has not. He is also the same yesterday, today and forever. It can be trusted and it is true.
Interestingly enough the bible remains to be one of the most powerful, controversial and famous books in history. It also remains to be one of the best sellers of all time.
Let us focus on the New Testament writings for a moment. There are roughly 5,600 copies of New Testament Greek manuscripts that were penned in less than 100 years. They are said to be 99.5% textually accurate. This compared with just 643 copies of Homers Iliad which was written 500 years after the original. This is merely one example where there are thousands more manuscripts than any other ancient writing.
It is agreed by mostly all biblical scholars that the New Testament Documents were all written within 70 years of Jesus's crucifixion in 30A.D. This is a crucial factor in the fact that there were enough people around at that time to challenge the writings. People would have been available to point out the mistakes. This leads me to my final point being that there have never been any early documents contemporary with the first century that contest these texts.
In closing Psalm 119:105 says Thy word is a Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I consider Gods word my road map, GPS in this life. For me without it I would be lost.There are times in my life where I can veer off the path, but God always brings me back and I owe him my life for it.
This best describes how I felt when my eyes were opened and I started following God and reading his word.I felt alive again with a hope that I cannot put into words. The word to me is the most timeless piece of literature I have ever read. As the years go by and I continue to read it, there are timeless truths that I am learning to apply to my life. Some people will say times have changed and therefore the culture and world have changed. People will say the bible is antiquated and not useful for the present.
The word speaks to every area of my life: Love,work,children,wisdom,character,being a good citizen,helping the needy,relationships,money, etc.
Isaiah 40:8 says the grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. I agree the times, culture and the world have changed. But God's word has not. He is also the same yesterday, today and forever. It can be trusted and it is true.
Interestingly enough the bible remains to be one of the most powerful, controversial and famous books in history. It also remains to be one of the best sellers of all time.
Let us focus on the New Testament writings for a moment. There are roughly 5,600 copies of New Testament Greek manuscripts that were penned in less than 100 years. They are said to be 99.5% textually accurate. This compared with just 643 copies of Homers Iliad which was written 500 years after the original. This is merely one example where there are thousands more manuscripts than any other ancient writing.
It is agreed by mostly all biblical scholars that the New Testament Documents were all written within 70 years of Jesus's crucifixion in 30A.D. This is a crucial factor in the fact that there were enough people around at that time to challenge the writings. People would have been available to point out the mistakes. This leads me to my final point being that there have never been any early documents contemporary with the first century that contest these texts.
In closing Psalm 119:105 says Thy word is a Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I consider Gods word my road map, GPS in this life. For me without it I would be lost.There are times in my life where I can veer off the path, but God always brings me back and I owe him my life for it.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thoughts on Deuteronomy 4:24
Deuteronomy 4:24- For The Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
As I was studying God's word this week, this verse spoke to my heart. I began to ponder what this verse really means to me and how I can apply it to my own life.
At a first glance, many people may associate it with a negative connotation. I think that we have to read the verses before and also look at the context. I think as people we run into problems when we do not understand the context or the interpretation and we put our own human thinking on it and often not allow the holy spirit to reveal to us the true meaning behind it.
For me when I think of God as a jealous God, I see him as wanting all of me and not bits and pieces of whats left of me by the end of each day. I think about that there are so many things, activities, responsibilities, and relationships that take my time such as my children, family, boyfriend, friends,church,ministry, work, shopping, exercise, cooking, house chores, up keep of my house. The list can go on and on.
Then I began to ponder how my christian life could drastically be changed if I would give God more of me. The cares of this life along with our relationships and responsibilities can ware us down when we often have nothing left. I am not downplaying that at all because I have been there many times. I do think that our God has every right to be jealous for our devotion. Our relationship with him is the most important and needs to be nurtured by being in his word praying and being the hands and feet that help the church and people in need. We should need and want to spend time with him and do things for his kingdom. He is my Savior, the one who has given me life and blessed me with so much in this world being my eternal provider from everything on this earth to what my future in eternity will be. I trust God the most and so I feel this way for him.
Lastly, I do not think our human mind can completely understand or compare God's jealousy to human jealousy. We are human and all have sin. God's jealousy is not filled with possessiveness and distrust. There is not a ounce of animosity, outrage or retaliation in God. All he is asking for is to spend time with us. He is a personal God who wants to know us more. Watch and see how he can change your life when you give more of yourself to him. I promise you will not be disappointed.
As I was studying God's word this week, this verse spoke to my heart. I began to ponder what this verse really means to me and how I can apply it to my own life.
At a first glance, many people may associate it with a negative connotation. I think that we have to read the verses before and also look at the context. I think as people we run into problems when we do not understand the context or the interpretation and we put our own human thinking on it and often not allow the holy spirit to reveal to us the true meaning behind it.
For me when I think of God as a jealous God, I see him as wanting all of me and not bits and pieces of whats left of me by the end of each day. I think about that there are so many things, activities, responsibilities, and relationships that take my time such as my children, family, boyfriend, friends,church,ministry, work, shopping, exercise, cooking, house chores, up keep of my house. The list can go on and on.
Then I began to ponder how my christian life could drastically be changed if I would give God more of me. The cares of this life along with our relationships and responsibilities can ware us down when we often have nothing left. I am not downplaying that at all because I have been there many times. I do think that our God has every right to be jealous for our devotion. Our relationship with him is the most important and needs to be nurtured by being in his word praying and being the hands and feet that help the church and people in need. We should need and want to spend time with him and do things for his kingdom. He is my Savior, the one who has given me life and blessed me with so much in this world being my eternal provider from everything on this earth to what my future in eternity will be. I trust God the most and so I feel this way for him.
Lastly, I do not think our human mind can completely understand or compare God's jealousy to human jealousy. We are human and all have sin. God's jealousy is not filled with possessiveness and distrust. There is not a ounce of animosity, outrage or retaliation in God. All he is asking for is to spend time with us. He is a personal God who wants to know us more. Watch and see how he can change your life when you give more of yourself to him. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
God's Unconditional Love
Did you ever question: Can I be loved after I have done something so horrible to someone? Or will this person ever forgive me for what has happened? Can my relationship ever be the same with this person because of what has happened? I have hurt this person so many times. Will they forgive me? Sometimes people cannot love us the way they did before or forgive us and move on from something that has happened. Things have happened and as a result the relationship has been severed and is changed forever. We cannot control how people will react to us once they have been hurt. We can only control how we act towards them.
I want to reassure you that we have a relationship with not only a just God but a compassionate loving God that never changes. Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The relationship with our heavenly father can be quite different from any human relationship.
God has taught me much about his unconditional love for me this past year. I do not think I was able to fully grasp the love he has for me until now. For myself, in the past I would base his love for me on what I did or how I would respond to him. I have always known I was his child, but I would start to question his love for me when I would mess up or sin.
He began to teach me that his love is unconditional and not conditional and based on anything that I could do for him, but what he has done for me. I had to be reminded of this verse from Ephesians 2:4-5 -“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)This means God shows us mercy even when we have failed him. Mercy is defined as being compassionate toward an offender. He wants us to come to him humbly when we have failed and confess to him. His word says when we confess our sins to him he is faithful to forgive us every time.
Here are some verses to think about and remember. Romans 8:38-39- “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. This is God’s promise to his people that NOTHING can separate the love that God has for you. Once you are his child you are his child. He will not leave you or forsake you. Even in light of what may be your darkest hour of your life when you are at your end or feel so low and want to think that he cannot love you in the state you are in, he does and he will.
When I sit back and think about the way God loves me, I just cannot wrap my brain around the thought. Humanly speaking I do not think we will ever be able to grasp the kind of love he has for us. Some people have a real hard time with understanding how we can know God in such a personal way because his ways are not ours and because he is the Creator of the universe. His desire is for us to get to know him, love him in a personal relationship as we have with our own family and friends. If you love someone you get to know them. His love propels me to read his word,talk to him through prayer, and showing others the same kind of love as he has shown me.
Here are some of my favorite verses from Psalm 139 that speak of this love that I cannot fathom at times. Psalm 139:13-18
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me
Lastly, remember we are his adopted children who were chosen before the foundation of this world to be set apart and blameless in his eyes. (Ephesians 1:4)
I want to reassure you that we have a relationship with not only a just God but a compassionate loving God that never changes. Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The relationship with our heavenly father can be quite different from any human relationship.
God has taught me much about his unconditional love for me this past year. I do not think I was able to fully grasp the love he has for me until now. For myself, in the past I would base his love for me on what I did or how I would respond to him. I have always known I was his child, but I would start to question his love for me when I would mess up or sin.
He began to teach me that his love is unconditional and not conditional and based on anything that I could do for him, but what he has done for me. I had to be reminded of this verse from Ephesians 2:4-5 -“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)This means God shows us mercy even when we have failed him. Mercy is defined as being compassionate toward an offender. He wants us to come to him humbly when we have failed and confess to him. His word says when we confess our sins to him he is faithful to forgive us every time.
Here are some verses to think about and remember. Romans 8:38-39- “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. This is God’s promise to his people that NOTHING can separate the love that God has for you. Once you are his child you are his child. He will not leave you or forsake you. Even in light of what may be your darkest hour of your life when you are at your end or feel so low and want to think that he cannot love you in the state you are in, he does and he will.
When I sit back and think about the way God loves me, I just cannot wrap my brain around the thought. Humanly speaking I do not think we will ever be able to grasp the kind of love he has for us. Some people have a real hard time with understanding how we can know God in such a personal way because his ways are not ours and because he is the Creator of the universe. His desire is for us to get to know him, love him in a personal relationship as we have with our own family and friends. If you love someone you get to know them. His love propels me to read his word,talk to him through prayer, and showing others the same kind of love as he has shown me.
Here are some of my favorite verses from Psalm 139 that speak of this love that I cannot fathom at times. Psalm 139:13-18
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me
Lastly, remember we are his adopted children who were chosen before the foundation of this world to be set apart and blameless in his eyes. (Ephesians 1:4)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Filling the Void with God
I was in deep prayer for the past three weeks over what to write my next blog entry on. It had come down to two topics. God revealed to me in three different ways through 3 people including myself that this was the topic he would want me to write about. I find it amazing that he will reveal to us these things. All I had to do was ask him and his word says he will answer our prayers if it is in accordance with his will. (Matthew 7:8, Matthew 21:22).
I could go on and on about this topic but I am going to write about how this topic has been a key area in my life that I have struggled with and at times still continue to struggle with.
God has taught me so much through my experience in the past year in a half. The most important thing that he was trying to teach me was that my trust, hope and confidence always need to be in him first. The problem in my life is that I was depending on a person to fulfill my hope, happiness and contentment. In other words I was placing someone on the throne of my heart and not God.
Here is God’s warning through Jeremiah of what happens when we do not rely on him and put our trust in man.
Jeremiah 17:5-10 - This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
I am sure we can all imagine something or someone that we have put too much hope, happiness and contentment in. It becomes an idol in our life that in our eyes is perfect and can never do wrong or disappoint. We forget that people are human and flawed and we also forget that whatever the things of this world offer are always temporary and fleeting. Our thinking becomes clouded by whatever or who ever we are trusting in. It becomes fantasy and not reality until we either lose it or we do not get what we want. It also takes away from our devotion to God and bearing fruit in our lives and doing work for his Kingdom. Our main focus then becomes whatever is taking up that time and place within our lives and other things such as family, work, and responsibilities become less important.
The result is disappointment, rejection, sadness, and our hearts get hurt. The damage can take much time to recover from.
When we put God first and truly trust him for everything, he is then ready to bless us. It will also eliminate and prepare us when a trial or storm comes into our life. Instead of falling apart and fearing the unknown, we can trust in the solid foundation and love of God to bring us through whatever happens. He will not disappoint nor forsake his children. Hebrews 13:5- Do not love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. Matthew 6:33- Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
When I start to head down this road, God will allow certain obstacles, and the daily frustrations of life to test me on if I am putting him first. It serves as a wake call to me to get me back on track.
I pray daily that God would fill me with his peace, happiness and contentment. Sometimes I still struggle, but I know I am not perfect. I am humbled by who he is and how much he loves me and is always there no matter what.
I could go on and on about this topic but I am going to write about how this topic has been a key area in my life that I have struggled with and at times still continue to struggle with.
God has taught me so much through my experience in the past year in a half. The most important thing that he was trying to teach me was that my trust, hope and confidence always need to be in him first. The problem in my life is that I was depending on a person to fulfill my hope, happiness and contentment. In other words I was placing someone on the throne of my heart and not God.
Here is God’s warning through Jeremiah of what happens when we do not rely on him and put our trust in man.
Jeremiah 17:5-10 - This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
I am sure we can all imagine something or someone that we have put too much hope, happiness and contentment in. It becomes an idol in our life that in our eyes is perfect and can never do wrong or disappoint. We forget that people are human and flawed and we also forget that whatever the things of this world offer are always temporary and fleeting. Our thinking becomes clouded by whatever or who ever we are trusting in. It becomes fantasy and not reality until we either lose it or we do not get what we want. It also takes away from our devotion to God and bearing fruit in our lives and doing work for his Kingdom. Our main focus then becomes whatever is taking up that time and place within our lives and other things such as family, work, and responsibilities become less important.
The result is disappointment, rejection, sadness, and our hearts get hurt. The damage can take much time to recover from.
When we put God first and truly trust him for everything, he is then ready to bless us. It will also eliminate and prepare us when a trial or storm comes into our life. Instead of falling apart and fearing the unknown, we can trust in the solid foundation and love of God to bring us through whatever happens. He will not disappoint nor forsake his children. Hebrews 13:5- Do not love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. Matthew 6:33- Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
When I start to head down this road, God will allow certain obstacles, and the daily frustrations of life to test me on if I am putting him first. It serves as a wake call to me to get me back on track.
I pray daily that God would fill me with his peace, happiness and contentment. Sometimes I still struggle, but I know I am not perfect. I am humbled by who he is and how much he loves me and is always there no matter what.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is one of the most difficult topics to address with people. The act of forgiving in itself can be extremely difficult for people.
We can rest assured that we find many examples of forgiveness in God's word. The truth and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a story of forgiveness for all people. Here is one verse that speaks of this forgiveness.
Colossians 1:13-14-For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We can probably all agree that we have been hurt in some of the ways that I will mention: being lied to, made fun of, betrayed, abused emotionally or physically, cheated, or cheated on by a spouse, boyfiend or girlfriend, fired, etc. These acts can lead us to believe or feel that we have the right not to forgive. We can become prideful in our attempt to justify our reasons for not forgiving someone because we feel that we have been hurt and sinned against.
This verse sums it up for us. In Gods eyes, we have no choice but to forgive. In the end, we have to ask ourselves if we are going to let unforgiveness run our lives here on earth and possibly cost us rewards we would receive when we get to heaven.
Matthew 6:14-15-For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
We have to remember no matter how much someone has hurt us or sinned against us we must forgive. This takes a person who can humble his or herself and admit that they are not perfect themselves. It does not matter what has been done to us. Refer to the verse below:
1 John 1:9-But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
I cannot imagine or fathom to know what it is like to lose a child or to have been abused, etc. But there have been some horrible things that have happened to me in my life and I can honestly say until I was able to forgive the person completely only at that time did I feel truly set free with a peace and happiness that God gave me. It was as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Then I was able to truly move on with my life with no hesitations or doubts.
A big part of forgiveness is learning not to keep rehashing or replaying situations with people or even in your own mind. I know from experience it is difficult to truly forgive and move on if we are constantly replaying the situations in our mind and with other people. I am not saying there will not be times and certain things that may spark a memory or a thought, but I find it best to truly keep the negative events of the past in the past where they belong. The spirit reminds me of a verse that speaks volumes of this.
Psalm 103:12- As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Let us take this a step further and refer to Hebrews 10:17-Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.
If our Lord and Savior can take all of our sins against him and remove them and never bring them up again, then we as humans should be able to do the same when people have hurt us.
I would like to look at a powerful story of forgiveness from the scriptures. Joseph was Jacob and Rachel’s first son who came into the scene in Genesis 30. As Joseph was growing up it became apparent that his father Jacob favored him. Joseph was a man who followed God. God started to reveal to him in his dreams that one day he would be great in the land of Egypt and that his brothers would bow to him. It was also revealed to him that the land would prosper for a time but then a great famine would soon follow. During the times of increase, Joseph worked hard to store up the bountiful harvest to prepare for the famine to come. Unfortunately, his brothers did not see their brother Joseph as a mature and important man of Egypt. Instead they grew not only jealous of the favor Jacob showed to him, but also were fueled with jealousy over the dream that he would one day be a prominent leader. His brothers became so jealous that they were even plotting at one point to kill him. The events that followed from his brother’s jealousy led him to be sold into slavery. But that was not the end of this story. Joseph was given an elevated position by the Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. Once the great famine had hit Egypt, his brothers were filled with great remorse over what they had done to Joseph. Being the man of God Joseph was he forgave them. His years of persevering dependence on God brought about his elevated position. The end result was the salvation of his brothers and father and an entire country saved from starvation.
In closing, I cannot imagine what would have happened if Joseph did not forgive his brothers. The cost would have been loss of not only his family, but an entire nation.
I think we can see how important forgiveness is in this life. I pray that if anyone is reading this blog and is struggling with forgiving someone, that you would pray for God to grant you the peace and power to forgive. It may not be easy and it may require taking baby steps daily, but it is a start to a beautiful beginning of setting yourself free from the bondage of the anger and bitterness that unforgiveness can cause.
We can rest assured that we find many examples of forgiveness in God's word. The truth and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a story of forgiveness for all people. Here is one verse that speaks of this forgiveness.
Colossians 1:13-14-For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We can probably all agree that we have been hurt in some of the ways that I will mention: being lied to, made fun of, betrayed, abused emotionally or physically, cheated, or cheated on by a spouse, boyfiend or girlfriend, fired, etc. These acts can lead us to believe or feel that we have the right not to forgive. We can become prideful in our attempt to justify our reasons for not forgiving someone because we feel that we have been hurt and sinned against.
This verse sums it up for us. In Gods eyes, we have no choice but to forgive. In the end, we have to ask ourselves if we are going to let unforgiveness run our lives here on earth and possibly cost us rewards we would receive when we get to heaven.
Matthew 6:14-15-For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
We have to remember no matter how much someone has hurt us or sinned against us we must forgive. This takes a person who can humble his or herself and admit that they are not perfect themselves. It does not matter what has been done to us. Refer to the verse below:
1 John 1:9-But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
I cannot imagine or fathom to know what it is like to lose a child or to have been abused, etc. But there have been some horrible things that have happened to me in my life and I can honestly say until I was able to forgive the person completely only at that time did I feel truly set free with a peace and happiness that God gave me. It was as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Then I was able to truly move on with my life with no hesitations or doubts.
A big part of forgiveness is learning not to keep rehashing or replaying situations with people or even in your own mind. I know from experience it is difficult to truly forgive and move on if we are constantly replaying the situations in our mind and with other people. I am not saying there will not be times and certain things that may spark a memory or a thought, but I find it best to truly keep the negative events of the past in the past where they belong. The spirit reminds me of a verse that speaks volumes of this.
Psalm 103:12- As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Let us take this a step further and refer to Hebrews 10:17-Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.
If our Lord and Savior can take all of our sins against him and remove them and never bring them up again, then we as humans should be able to do the same when people have hurt us.
I would like to look at a powerful story of forgiveness from the scriptures. Joseph was Jacob and Rachel’s first son who came into the scene in Genesis 30. As Joseph was growing up it became apparent that his father Jacob favored him. Joseph was a man who followed God. God started to reveal to him in his dreams that one day he would be great in the land of Egypt and that his brothers would bow to him. It was also revealed to him that the land would prosper for a time but then a great famine would soon follow. During the times of increase, Joseph worked hard to store up the bountiful harvest to prepare for the famine to come. Unfortunately, his brothers did not see their brother Joseph as a mature and important man of Egypt. Instead they grew not only jealous of the favor Jacob showed to him, but also were fueled with jealousy over the dream that he would one day be a prominent leader. His brothers became so jealous that they were even plotting at one point to kill him. The events that followed from his brother’s jealousy led him to be sold into slavery. But that was not the end of this story. Joseph was given an elevated position by the Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. Once the great famine had hit Egypt, his brothers were filled with great remorse over what they had done to Joseph. Being the man of God Joseph was he forgave them. His years of persevering dependence on God brought about his elevated position. The end result was the salvation of his brothers and father and an entire country saved from starvation.
In closing, I cannot imagine what would have happened if Joseph did not forgive his brothers. The cost would have been loss of not only his family, but an entire nation.
I think we can see how important forgiveness is in this life. I pray that if anyone is reading this blog and is struggling with forgiving someone, that you would pray for God to grant you the peace and power to forgive. It may not be easy and it may require taking baby steps daily, but it is a start to a beautiful beginning of setting yourself free from the bondage of the anger and bitterness that unforgiveness can cause.
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