forgiveness

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 (6:37 a.m.)

Awesome and Wonderful God,

Thank You! Talk to me this morning about forgiveness, would You please? I still have a long way to go with it. I had honestly forgotten how easily I could hold a grudge and just how detrimental that is to my health - physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Oh look at that! All the aspects of loving You – with all my heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).

Lord, it is here that I must ask You to forgive me. I knew my feelings were hurt over something relatively minor. I also knew that I had stored it up and was occasionally taking it out to look at it, reminding myself of just how ‘right’ I was to continue feeling hurt. Oh, and I didn’t stop there! No, no. I got to the place where I started adding to it. Every slight. Every perceived indifference went straight into that gunnysack I was carrying around with me. [Interesting isn’t it that it was gunny sacks that Daddy used to use to bring home the stinkiest, smelliest fish from his fishing trips - all iced down to keep them fresh. The icier my tones and attitudes became the fresher the wound stayed!]

Forgive me Lord. There for a while I truly thought I was justified. Even when I repeatedly felt You urging me toward forgiveness, I would consider Your guidance then slip over to “But what about…?” I’m thinking this would be exactly why Paul encouraged his followers in Ephesus to live in unity. Ephesians 4:25-27, “So put away all falsehood and ‘tell your neighbor the truth’ (Zechariah 8:16) because we belong to each other. And ‘don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.’ (Psalm 4:4) Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the devil.”

And it did! One thing so very quickly led to another. And the next thing I knew I had dug myself into a hole that I was becoming too embarrassed to crawl out of. Lord, thank You for Your guidance. It was Your persistent leading that helped me finally come clean and seek my friend’s forgiveness for grudge holding.

Your Word has great things to teach us about grudges as well. Leviticus 19:17-18, “Don’t hold grudges. On the other hand, it’s wrong not to correct someone who needs correcting. Stop being angry and don’t try to take revenge. I am the Lord, and I command you to love others as much as you love yourself.”

And then of course there is the wisdom of the Preacher/Teacher in Ecclesiastes 7:9, “Only fools get angry quickly and hold a grudge.”

Thank You Lord that You Word is filled with Your love, Your will, Your way and all we have to do is choose to follow You. Yes. It all comes right back to Deuteronomy 30:19-20, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Lord, I love You so much. Thank You that Your forgiveness includes every single time I give in to willful [actually WON’T-full J] stubborn disobedience and then finally come to YOUR senses. Thank You for NEVER giving up on me!

♫Oh no, You never let go Through the calm and through the storm Oh no, You never let go In every high and every low Oh no, You never let go Lord, You never let go of me♫ How blessed I am Lord, that You never let go! Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(660 words ~ 8: 03 a.m.)