Devotional for 11/29/15
When we were young, our parents taught us how to behave such as when to say please and thank you, I'm sorry, or I forgive you. When our boys were little, we struggled to teach them that even if they didn't mean to do something, they should still say they were sorry if they accidentally hurt someone else. It was not an admission of doing something on purpose to them, but expressing regret that the person was harmed. We also tried to teach them that they should forgive someone who said they were sorry, even if what they did was wrong.
As I have matured, I have learned that forgiving someone is important even when the other person isn't ready to say they are sorry or to change their ways. It is what God desires. If I am unforgiving, I am not hurting that other person or changing them at all, I am just making myself miserable by holding a grudge, the heaviest weight on earth! Being angry with injustice is one thing, but "unpacking my bags and staying there" can lead to being resentful, which only harms myself. God says he is the one that will take vengeance on the unrepenant. Our job is to be forgiving.
I also have to remember that sometimes even I have been unwilling to say I am sorry for something I've done or to change my ways out of stubbornness or inability to see that I am in the wrong. And even in those situations, God still is ready to forgive me.
Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. Guilt and shame may have a strangle hold on us due to something in our past that we feel is unforgivable. Even if we know that God forgives us, we may find it hard to be as merciful with ourselves. Other people who have done the same thing as we did may be easier for us to forgive. It may be helpful to remember that even though God is perfect and just, He still forgives us. We can also ask God to help us with our unforgiving attitude, whether it be with others or with ourselves.
When we were young, our parents taught us how to behave such as when to say please and thank you, I'm sorry, or I forgive you. When our boys were little, we struggled to teach them that even if they didn't mean to do something, they should still say they were sorry if they accidentally hurt someone else. It was not an admission of doing something on purpose to them, but expressing regret that the person was harmed. We also tried to teach them that they should forgive someone who said they were sorry, even if what they did was wrong.
As I have matured, I have learned that forgiving someone is important even when the other person isn't ready to say they are sorry or to change their ways. It is what God desires. If I am unforgiving, I am not hurting that other person or changing them at all, I am just making myself miserable by holding a grudge, the heaviest weight on earth! Being angry with injustice is one thing, but "unpacking my bags and staying there" can lead to being resentful, which only harms myself. God says he is the one that will take vengeance on the unrepenant. Our job is to be forgiving.
I also have to remember that sometimes even I have been unwilling to say I am sorry for something I've done or to change my ways out of stubbornness or inability to see that I am in the wrong. And even in those situations, God still is ready to forgive me.
Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. Guilt and shame may have a strangle hold on us due to something in our past that we feel is unforgivable. Even if we know that God forgives us, we may find it hard to be as merciful with ourselves. Other people who have done the same thing as we did may be easier for us to forgive. It may be helpful to remember that even though God is perfect and just, He still forgives us. We can also ask God to help us with our unforgiving attitude, whether it be with others or with ourselves.
Thank you Lord Jesus for giving your life as payment for my sins. Your forgiveness of all is sometimes unbelievably overwhelming. Help me, dear Lord, to realize where I have done wrong. Help me to try to right my wrongs against others out of thankfulness for my own forgiveness from you. Your love and forgiveness are given freely to me. Help me to be like you, to forgive others, no matter what the offense may be. In your name, Amen.
- written by Jan Andersen
Thank you for this! It reminds me of the saying: "Resentments are like drinking poison, expecting the other person to die."
ReplyDeleteabsolutely, forgiveness is hard- so difficult. But no one said being a Christian was easy. Thank you again for this!
Thanks so much for reading it and sharing your thoughts. I like that saying also. There is so much more I could have said like praying for the other person to have all the blessings you desire for yourself, especially if you have difficulty forgiving them. Blessings to you.
DeleteUnforgiveness is a weighty load to carry. And what makes the one who carries it feel that they are perfect enough to withhold forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteAfter I posted my comment I remembered an old saying..."To err is human; to forgive divine." Let's get our godly on!
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