When I am barraged on many different sides by the same topic, I know it’s God speaking to me - over and over, which is exactly how He needs to get my attention sometimes. Apparently, the topic for this week is Forgiveness. I went to Bible study a couple of days ago and the topic came up – how difficult it is (even when you know God commands it), exactly what forgiveness looks like and how to go about it. Is it a feeling? An action? Something tangible?
Then the next morning I started the day with my favorite podcast, and the topic? Forgiveness. The speaker helped clarify what forgiveness is and what it looks like in practical terms. Forgiveness, he said, is giving up your right to get even, give payback, etc. Instead of trying to plan your next move or your official response to the offense, hand it to God and let Him handle whatever should be done next on your behalf, and **you** let go of that heavy load and move forward. God will handle it in the appropriate manner, you can trust Him for that. Nowhere did he mention having some warm, fuzzy feeling about the offender as a requirement, or ask you to excuse what they did to you. It’s a great help to know that I don’t have to feel OK with the offense or the offender for that matter, and healthy boundaries are perfectly acceptable. But letting God take over the outrage and any payback is do-able.
Fast forward to this morning, and the first “Memory” I saw on Facebook was about… you guessed it! Forgiveness. The memory was a page from the book “Jesus Calling.” People are going to say and do things that hurt you. Life is not fair, the reading says, but it’s also not fair that Jesus laid down his life for you and took on your sins when none of us deserved it. Just like the offender does not deserve YOUR forgiveness. The reading goes on to say, “When someone mistreats you, try to view it as an opportunity to grow in grace…Don’t be concerned about setting the record straight. Instead of obsessing about other people’s opinions of you, keep your focus on Me. Ultimately, it is My view of you that counts.”
Many of us carry the baggage of unforgiveness and it's a heavy load God never meant for us to carry. It's not only bad for us, but God commands us not to do it - two great reasons to give that load over to Him.
