For weeks, I have grappled with these passages in 2 Corinthians. Forgiveness is such a complicated, messy, and integral part of the Christian faith. And if I’m honest, I don’t know if I understand how it works or whether I’m practicing it well in my life.
When I really let myself think about forgiveness, it touches raw nerves. It calls up painful memories of the times I’ve been hurt and the times I’ve done the hurting. And that doesn’t feel good. In fact, I’d rather just forget about those parts of my life and move on. But contrary to popular belief, Jesus does not call us to “forgive and forget.” Christian forgiveness does not require rose-colored glasses or some spiritual version of denial. What it does require is faith that if Jesus has carried the weight of our sin, He can also carry the weight of our wounds.
God doesn’t minimize our offenses. He doesn’t wave them away with a magic wand of denial. Nor does He offer empty cop-outs. Instead, He enacted an eternal and costly plan to set things right.
The man of great sorrow, Jesus was well acquainted with the evil of this world (Isaiah 53:3), and He refused to ignore it. Instead, He chose to bear the debt on His own back. Knowing that God could not be in the presence of unholy people, Jesus put on our unholiness and gave us His perfect record in return. The sin was heavy, and Jesus carried it, though He didn’t resent us while carrying the cross. He didn’t wait for us to ask Him to do it, either. He forgave us before we even knew we needed forgiveness—because He loved us first.
As impossible as it sometimes feels, we are called to emulate Christ. “For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2Corinthians 2:15). Still, forgiveness is not easy. It does not eliminate pain. It does not guarantee that we will be reconciled to that person or that the relationship will ever be the same. Forgiveness says, “I no longer hold this offense against you.” In my life, that has meant actively forgiving someone for the same crime, even as I find myself feeling resentful again. When the bitterness returns, I can choose to let that old wound fester, or I can put on the salve of forgiveness. There may still be a scar, but I am no longer keeping the wound open in order to prove how much I’ve been hurt.
But I’m not Jesus. So even my ability to forgive is imperfect. One of Jesus’s disciples once asked whether it was fair to forgive someone seven times, and Jesus replied,
“I tell you, not as many as seven…but seventy times seven.”
—Matthew 18:22
When forgiveness is hard, faith reminds me to focus less on what someone did to me and more on what Jesus did for me. It is in that posture of humility that I can bring my wounds and my sins back to the feet of Jesus. It is there that He reminds me that even when my suffering feels heavy, He is the one who ultimately carries it all.
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76 thoughts on "A Sinner Forgiven"
I pray that I would be better at forgiving myself .
As I read this today, I kept thinking of a phrase that has gotten me through past hurts: “be generous with forgiveness.” Easier said than done, for sure, but I realize that I don’t need to keep “the wound open in order to prove how much I’ve been hurt.”
Yes, and AMEN!
Forgiveness is such a hard topic. But anything that is worthy is hard. Love goes hand in hand with forgiveness..godly love that is. Someone shared this with me, and I like to pass on, to those of us whom might need us or never realize this.
I heard He is asking you…He is asking you to forgive him. Forgive him for what ails you. Release your anger, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, and your feelings of rejection unto him. He can handle it. He understands. He doesn’t need your forgiveness but he wants it. Forgive him for the period of your isolation, the wrongs done unto you. Forgive him!
He wants to dig a well of revival in you. I see a renewal of heart and mind coming to you. He wants to reform your family and provide a course correction so you can live abundantly in him to a fullness that surpasses your understanding.
Forgive him! He wants you to forgive him so the strongholds you are holding on to in this hour for comfort and guarding crumble. Forgive him and let him work a miracle! The stronghold of self preservation must break now! In the name of Jesus.
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My eyes are under treatment. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Be blessed dear sisters.
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Forgiveness is a hard choice. It may happen immediately or the choice may need to be made repeatedly. Either way, it is His way. He has forgiven much,in me. I must be willing to do the same.
I have learned that forgiveness is what I need to do to make myself better. I have been hurt in the past from several different people, most from church, and I just keep going over the offense in my head and making myself sick over it. Then I realize they have moved on and don’t even care what they did to me or how they made me feel so I am the only one hurting. I have had to tell myself that I need to forgive them for me, not necessarily because they deserve it, but because I deserve to not be hurting. I have to forgive to make myself better. I don’t have to put myself in the position to be hurt by them again or be friends with them. I do have to forgive them for what hurt they caused so I can move on with my life and not let their actions effect how I feel or do any more damage to me. They may not deserve the forgiveness, but I need and deserve the healing in my life caused by the forgiveness.
I have recently learned that in the biblical languages (or maybe just the Greek?), there are at least 4 different words for forgiveness. I can’t remember them all, and I can’t provide a source at the moment, but I learned about this in my divorce/abuse and recovery support group. I am eager to learn more so I can explain it better, but as others have already mentioned, forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean restoration of relationships where there is no repentance and change in the person who causes offense. It does not mean that we give up our boundaries and become a doormat. Jesus didn’t do that. And, yes, it is hard, and it takes time in many cases. But our Savior is willing to teach us as we seek him. ❤️
YES!! Well said TRUTH!!
Thank you Claire for your insight into these verses.
I love how you reminded us that Jesus not only carries our sins but also our wounds.
Let’s apply the salve of forgiveness and pray for healing for oneself and for the person who has caused harm.
Even though there is a big emphasis on forgiveness (and aren’t we glad we have forgiveness?!), I hope that others can see the aroma of life in me.
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Let us all have that aroma leading to life, sweet sisters.
Yes! I want to be that!
Forgiveness is hard but we must to be truly free in Christ. I have learned that when I pray and ask God to help me forgive someone, it seems at first to be me just going through the motions. But, the more I do it, it becomes easier. Also, when I remember all that Christ has done for me, it’s easier to forgive or just overlook an offense.
I would never suggest that when you go through abuse or something terrible that it will be easy. I do believe if we come to Christ with our wounds He can heal and restore us. In the process of this, we are able to forgive and let go of the offense. We not forget but we have peace in our heart.
Praying for all of you and for those of you who have been hurt and are struggling to forgive.
“Still, forgiveness is not easy. It does not eliminate pain. It does not guarantee that we will be reconciled to that person or that the relationship will ever be the same. Forgiveness says, “I no longer hold this offense against you.”
Thank you Claire for providing one of the clearest & comforting & cleansing descriptions of forgiveness I have ever read. And My, My, how I as the “ injurer”need to accept & understand how sometimes, with the “ injured”, we can never really go back to before.
So stop my guilty, teary eyes. Jesus has seen & bore it all. And by His grace never stops loving me.
And by His Grace never stops loving them, either.
That’s just who He is!
Amen! I agree this was the best explanation of forgiveness I have ever heard. I often think of forgiveness as other directed, sometimes we need to direct it to ourselves as well:)
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Claire Gibson…thank you for this well-thought-out-devotion! Once again, God’s perfect timing. AND at youth group last night the speaker talked about this VERY subject. Thank you for your transparency as I felt the same way. I love when you said, “I no longer hold the offense against you.” AND “There may be a scar, but I am no longer keeping the wound open in order to prove how much I’ve been hurt. I needed to “hear” this, this morning. Happy Thursday sweet she’s, could use some prayer as I’m feeling anxious, and very poor sleep. I should of known better than to drink Coke at dinner time! I was UP most of the night. Also please pray for my kiddos as they just left for the city. My son wanted to spend time with my daughter and have fun. She was a little nervous as the city is VERY busy and lots of traffic, but she was nervous and took 3 Epi-pen’s with her! Due to her peanut allergy, she has to carry those wherever she goes. WE we over with my son “how-to” administer in case of an emergency.
In the 2 Cor. 2 passage, I read about forgiving the person who has hurt and my heart agrees. Then I see the line about part of the reasoning including not wanting the person to be overcome with grief [from their actions]. That’s where I pause. What about the person who is not even slightly inconvenienced over the hurt they caused. Maybe even *PROUD* of the hurt they caused. They justify it and move on, almost empowered by their take-charge, prove-their-point-at-ALL-cost “empowerment”. But then I read “…that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan”, and I am reminded the bigger picture. That person’s offense to me is a representation that in some area, Satan is taking advantage. Even if this person is a Christian, clearly in some unchecked-space, (and as harsh as it sounds to say) Satan is being given authorization to call the shots. And with shots fired, bystanders are hit. So, I can invite the Holy Spirit into that wound or I can engage with my Enemy on my retaliation-plan. Fight fire with fire, so to speak. It’s just, if I do that, my offender and I are both just participating in battle, fueled by our ultimate enemy who is getting all the glory, attention and power he was hoping for. My war is not with whomever offends me. That person is a created being engraved with the image of God. My war is with the one who motivates all of the evil that we are forced to encounter. While the ultimate war has already been won (yes!), the battles for our peace, joy, ministries, influence and trust will continue as long as we are living this side of Heaven. I can choose to join forces and rank in that attack, or I can stand on the side of victory, helping extinguish every flaming arrow shot in my direction. Nothing is more misunderstood these days than forgiveness. I will admit, it really does feel like I am “okay-ing” the hurt someone has caused, but that is another fired weapon of my enemy. If I see it and call it out for what it is, it boomerangs back with greater force than it came and takes the enemy’s plan out cold. It is hard. work. It is tiring. I have to remind myself to keep going back to the source of my victory and allow my own Five-Star General to comfort me, bind my wounds and give me the rest I need to step back out in confidence and grace, knowing he goes before me in each step. The one who hurts may never take responsibility for their attack. How sad for them… standing on the side who has already lost, wasting their efforts and energy day after day. So, let’s remember to pray for them. They have been fed lies by the real enemy and we need to fight for them and the healing in their own hearts. When I think of the people who have hurt me the most in life, I realize quickly how deeply wounded THEY are. I want healing for them. Not just so they put their weapons down, but so they can experience the freedom God promises for them too. Forgiveness is an atomic bomb of God’s power so let’s use it!
Thank you Heidi…I needed to see your response this morning.
Wow and amen!
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Amen, Heidi. ❤️❤️
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I find it easy to forgive and move on because I try to justify other peoples actions (I view this as one of my weaknesses). As I have gotten older I realize that this has allowed people to take advantage of me and I held on to some “friends” longer than I should have. I am now more assertive and even if I forgive someone these days, I’ll also be at peace with the idea that it’s time to move on. Mostly to protect my family.
I am sitting in todays passage because I can’t tell if we are supposed to forgive and then keep the person in our lives (meaning we’ve truly forgiven them) or if it’s okay to forgive and not see them again. This study has really given me a lot of self reflection questions!
Hi Kim,
I am in a similar boat as you; also justify others actions and have had similar outcomes (people taking advantage). I have been on a journey with this to become more assertive and set boundaries (hard because it is so new to me!) What I have learned for myself… forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation. Some people you forgive and rebuild and some you forgive, move on from and hand them over to God. I’ve gone to God with the move on ones and had Him help navigate that decision. It’s so hard but in the long run, has helped bring peace and stopped resentment on my end for continued breaches.
Same. ❤️❤️
Such wonderful, thoughtful posts this morning. Ahhh forgiveness. It’s a tough one. I agree with the comment “holding onto unforgiveness is like drinking poision and hoping the one that wronged you will die”. Having been in a physically and emotionally abusive marriage for almost 10 years many, many years ago was a tough one to forgive. Especially when the abuse started happening to my children. It took me years to forgive my ex for the hurt he caused us. But when I finally, with God’s help, forgave him, I felt like I could live again. Having been a christian most of my life, I remember trying to count just how many times 70 x 7 was!! But when I think about forgiveness now, I realize that I ask for forgiveness daily!! BUT GOD! Helping my son forgive him was much harder and I still pray for his heart daily. God is good! His mercy is overflowing and new every day (thank goodess!) I try to forgive quickly now. Some things are harder than others, that’s for sure. But the quicker I can forgive and move on, the quicker I can have peace. Have a wonderful day ladies!❤️
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Catherine…I too went through the almost the same thing. This month will be 7 years when the door-became-wide-opened, and I left and an emotionally/verbally and sometimes physical abuse marriage. Just getting “those” words out was huge! I’m so proud of you! And its shows our children what is NOT OK in a marriage/child relationship. Its my daughter who struggles the most. Though she wasn’t abused directly, it effected her greatly to watch the man who was suppose to protect us abuse my son and I. I will be praying for your son! I got involved with Celebrate Recovery for co-dependency and I continue counseling I will be praying for you!
Forgiveness doesn’t seem to always be the hard part. Reconciliation and moving forward seem the hardest, usually.
I agree! ❤️
Yeppers. ❤️❤️
Wow. This brings us my step daughter more than anyone. She treated me so unkindly for years. My husband stayed silent. I realized I had to forgive her to make my relationship work. But, my husband needed to realize his part in it.
My other situation was being in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. It doesn’t hold so much weight for me. I’m not even sure I have forgiven him. But he no longer is here on this earth and I don’t really think of him anymore. Maybe that is forgiveness. He doesn’t stir up feelings in me. He had so many issues and that caused him his life. And it taught me so much about myself. For that I’m appreciative.
Forgiveness can be hard, but I remind myself of how many times God forgives me and it somehow becomes easier.
Ah, yes, Traci. The step-daughter. The father. The hurts that ricochet. Some days require not the minimum but maximum daily dose of forgiveness. Exempting no one. Expecting everyone.
Yep, I had the same with a grown step-daughter(21) and my husband. That was years ago, she never apologized for her unkind treatment..but it doesn’t bother me anymore, so I’m like your Traci, I don’t even know if I actually forgave or not, it doesn’t bother me anymore unless I think back to that time!
Oh FORGIVENESS–so simple, so complex, so many varieties, yet one simple solution in the end. Letting our heart heal by letting GO! And most importantly because WE WERE, ARE, and WILL Be forgiven ALL of our trespasses. When you/we realize how you/we hurt, sin, slander, resist—what ever it is we do against the Lord, when we truly get it that he forgives us over and over, and over again- it should put it in perspective of WHY we have to do it! Easier said then done. My biggest example is when my exhusband decided after a year or so of marriage with a toddler, he didn’t want to be in the marriage anymore, he didn’t “love” me. Oh the rejection, the hurt that it caused. And I couldn’t even do anything to mend it. I was hurt and broken…yet we had to navigate how to split time with our child. It was so, so hard to do that without being in constant anger every time I had to talk to him and see him. There is no way to do that without the help of Jesus and the Holy Spirit! And the result of forgiveness (over and over) was beautiful…the well-being and happiness that my son reaped and also the people that saw us together, in unity as parents. It’s not easy..it went on for about 4 years of constant forgiveness in my head..I was still in love and wanted a whole family, not the fractured broken family, But God still made beauty out of the ashes.
Another example was at jail ministry when we had the whole class on forgiveness. Talk about hard things to forgive, they all have major brokenness and deep fractures from family. The one (Lisa, in case you feel inclined to pray for her) said her step dad had shot her mom, then shot himself, and she found them at age 19. She cannot forgive him, and asked us how we even think that she should. We explained how it frees you, and we do it for our own healing and further more it is commanded or we will not be forgiven. That is harsh in their eyes. BUT what has happened in the not forgiving. She has covered the pain with alcohol and it has finally spun out of control and she is in jail having to really analize this other option of non-forgiveness. That’s what happens. It’s a lesson for all of us. Not forgiving will break you and leave you at the bottom, and you won’t even recognize it, until years later. She is 40. And guess what…she picked up a Bible for the first time in her life…in jail. GOD is a restorer, a Merciful and full of Grace God! A redeemer! But the consequences of our choices hurt us, our families, and everyone. My heart hurts for her, and I think she will continue to grow, and changes our coming for her. I hope she will be a Stacy..A beautiful butterfly…transformed from dead in sins, to a beautiful restored- new- life!
Laura..your story WILL bring a beautiful testimony to all who knows you and your family, your church and your sisters here! As disciples of the Lord…it causes division in families, fathers, husbands, wives, children…BUT GOD it also brings back unity for the faithful! You will reap rewards for sure..its in the patient, following, keeping our eyes on the Lord as we keep moving forward to where he leads!
Thank you for all
Oh my what a life story. We know that forgiveness is the road to freedom, but how difficult it will be for her to let go of what her stepdad did to her mother. And knowing she would find them! I pray for Lisa that she will come to know our precious Father. That she will be able to forgive and live this beautiful life that we are all given.
Thank you! She is should get out at the end of August to go to a program at Salvation Army. She loves to read, I’m going to buy her that Lisa Turkest book on forgiveness that someone recommended. I hope she will continue her new journey with God!
Wow! ❤ Thank you for sharing how forgiveness healed your pain!
Sin hurts everyone around the sinner – we could all probably think of several circumstances where sin has broken our hearts but forgiveness itself the ultimate healing for that brokenness. I highly recommend reading Lysa Terkerust’s book on forgiveness! It is life changing and worth the read- even if you’re not struggling with forgiveness currently it helps give you a Kingdom outlook- even if it’s forgiving the person who cut you off in traffic this morning!! ☮️❤️ to you she’s !!
I thought I had dealt with forgiving those who had hurt me, but reading these scriptures and devotion revealed yet another person I have been harboring anger and hurt towards. Do you find it’s harder to forgive when it’s your children that have been hurt or wronged? I sure do! My youngest daughter is adopted from Mongolia and there have been friends and family members who have slighted or rejected her while growing up. Those are the hardest to forgive for me. But God!! He is working on my old mom heart to forgive and love them all. Thank you for sharing your stories of forgiveness ladies, it helps soften my heart❤️
Dear JaneK. Look for God, the Great Overcomer, in your daughter’s growth, and in your heart as her mother, now & today! There’s a saying that goes “ living well is the best revenge”.
Great reading this morning. When I experienced a deep wrong and had to reprocess everything I thought I knew about forgiveness, I encountered an explanation that forever changed my perspective and allowed me to truly forgive. On the cross, Jesus did not just pay the price for my sins against Him and others; He also paid the price for the sins of others against me. When I forgive, I choose to accept Christ’s offer of payment on behalf of the person who wronged me. That payment never comes up short.
Amen & Amen, Sister She!
I love this. One of the things I’ve been learning is that forgiveness is both a choice and a command. And so I forgive the moment the pain happened, and forgive again every time the hurt creeps back up.
Colossians 3:14 also stood out to me, that we must ‘put on love’; it is an action. It calls me to consider what that looks like in this minute, hour, day. That by choosing love, I also choose forgiveness and peace.
May the Holy Spirit dwell in our hearts today as we make the choice to put on love, and to forgive.
“Forgiveness is both a choice and a command” this is perfectly stated! Thank you for sharing!
“Forgive” and easy word to say but so hard to put to action.
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Being in ministry for over 30 years, my husband and I have been hurt so deeply and repeatedly by those we counted as close friends. It has been a long road and a process to forgive, but once you do – what a burden that is lifted!
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2 Corinthians 2:10-11 is a great reminder, that if we do not forgive -we open up the door for Satan to use it against us as he will outwit us…I love the verse that follows soon after, 2 Corinthians 2:14 – “But, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ”… It is through Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit that we can have victory, even in forgiving those who have caused us the deepest hurt.
Have a blessed and Thankful Thursday sisters! ❤️
This is a hard topic for me because I’d like to think that before I became a stepmom, forgiveness was easier for me. But my husband’s oldest daughter and her mother did so much to us for a span of 5 yrs, before stepdaughter became a legal adult, especially my husband, that this has been an area where I am holding strong to Jesus to help me through. I have tried to remind myself they both have mental health issues they are dealing with and show compassion, but when the thoughts of all we went through come back, I feel myself getting angry. But I am at a point where I have made peace with their actions because those wounds were festering. And I mean this without resentment, I just do not think about them. And it is something that has restored a lot of my peace. And when I feel getting upset, I bring my feelings to God to help me through them. I also pray that maybe one day that relationship will be restored between stepdaughter and my husband because she is still his child.
I highly recommend Lysa TerKeurst’s book Forgiving what you can’t forget! Such a healing book rooted in The Word.
Thank you Allison. I will check it out.
Maria my step daughter treated me so badly for years. And my husband allowed it. I don’t know who I was more angry with. I understand he felt in the middle, but I moved my entire life, literally form IL to CO for him. It has take me years to forgive. To understand her feelings. That does not justify how she treated me. Just takes that pain off my back. We are better now as she is an adult. But we will never be what I was hoping for. Acceptance can be a beautiful thing.
CLAIRE GIBSON – Thank you! I could have highlighted the entire devo!
SEARCHING – Thank you for sharing those feelings of hurt and your walk through them. Many of us could say something similar, but I could never express it the way you did. ❤
What forgiveness is NOT (thanks, Tricia!): It is not a stamp of approval!
What forgiveness is (quote by Warren Wiersbe): Forgiveness is the medicine that helps to heal broken hearts.
Continued prayers, sisters. ❤
Love the Wiersbe quote – That would be great for our church sign!
❤ I forgot to add quotation marks! “Forgiveness is the medicine that helps to heal broken hearts.” – Warren Wiersbe
Gosh, forgiveness. This is a word I have thought about, prayed about, learned about, strived to do, all the things, for a long time. I never gave forgiveness much thought throughout my Christian life until nine years ago, when I was faced with the deepest hurt and the greatest need to forgive someone, when my husband confessed his affair to me and asked me to forgive him. Many wise and unwise people spoke to me at the time about forgiveness. The wise used words like the ones in this devotional and HRT. That Jesus forgave me and so forgiving him was like being like Jesus. That I should forgive as I was forgiven. That holding onto bitterness will only tear my own heart apart and allow Satan to work in my heart and get a foothold in my family. The wise were also compassionate towards me as well, relating that forgiving is not easy, it is sacrificial and it takes time. The unwise were those who thought I was weak and crazy to forgive. I was unjustly hurt, unjustly deceived. They told me that I was letting him get away with it if I forgave him and that I needed to make him pay by leaving him and never looking back. I didn’t listen to the unwise. In fact, I had to sever ties with those “friends.” I wanted to listen to the wise. But to be entirely transparent, I struggled to forgive in one sense because I did not understand forgiveness. I had never truly wrestled with my own sin and how Jesus forgave my sins. I was still living a “good, Christian life” and thought I didn’t have much to be forgiven. It was a process, I’ll tell you. I went deep and low and had to really examine myself and my heart first and see how truly loving and compassionate Jesus was to me before I could actually consider forgiving my husband. Friends, I am going to tell you today, if anyone here is walking through this, it takes time. For me, it took a long time. The “seventy times seven” part of Jesus’ words for me meant I had to keep going back and forgiving the same sin because bitterness kept creeping in. Forgiveness was not an easy process for me. It was not pretty. The forgiving process hurt and changed me. I am on the other side of that process now (thank you, Jesus!). I no longer hold any bitterness for this sin against my husband. And although there have been consequences for him, and he has had to work through those, I can see how Jesus is working through this forgiveness in our family as well. Our family at this point is still pretty broken and divided. BUT, it is that way because of the strong faith we hold fast to. And if I had chosen those many years ago to NOT forgive, our family would most likely look very different. We would still be broken and divided, but possibly in different ways and for different reasons. And I do not believe anyone would be wrestling with coming back to their faith because I believe faith in God would not be a hallmark of our family anymore. I pray that this difficult family situation full of ashes that we walked through will someday be turned into the beauty that I know God desires for us!
Thank you, Laura, for sharing your biggest hurt with us and the wisdom you received and followed. Great lesson for us all! ❤
I can’t imagine that kind of hurt. For you to be able to forgive shows the power of God, it is only through Him and His love for us that forgiveness is even possible.
Thank you for sharing your story. ❤️
Thank you Laura for sharing part of your life and story of forgiveness with us. You are a testament of Jesus’s love and forgiveness towards us!
Wow! What a great testimony. Thank you for sharing ❤️
So well written Laura. Thank you for sharing with us. “I wanted to listen to the wise.” That speaks volumes. It would have been so easy to listen to the unwise. To feel justified in your anger. I’m so glad you chose to listen and follow the “wise”. You are truly a testimony.
❤️❤️ We need to remember to listen to the wise ones, not the unwise!
Forgiveness is hard, often harder than we want it to be. A Christian therapist in a workshop about forgiveness finally helped me with something I had let fester in my heart. Unforgiveness is like a poison to our souls. Praying that God will send you a sister or brother to help you forgive. Thank you dear Jesus for loving and forgiving me, no matter when, no matter what.
Oh my goodness— how I get so shortsighted and need to be reminded of His great work on my behalf.. I can belittle it with distance somehow .. thank you
Yes. Thank you Jesus for what you have done
The forgiveness of our sins … we repent, and the Lord forgives. As TRICIA C reminded us, there may be consequences but regardless, we are forgiven, loved and guided through it all. Thank you, Father.
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For me to forgive, it’s not so cut and dried. The choice to forgive and the act of forgiveness are a process. There have been times when the hurt has just crushed me, and the struggle to move past it seems impossible. Quoting TINA, But God … with His help, I’m determined to forgive. The older I get, the more I realize the truth of what I’ve heard time and again – holding tight to the pain and refusing to forgive hurts me more than anyone else. Over time it takes a lot of energy and focus to keep a fuse lit underneath anger, continually stoking the fire of unforgiveness. And what am I missing as I focus on tending that anger?
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One result from an extreme hurt was this – Lord, please PLEASE don’t let me ever hurt someone else like I’ve been hurt.
Words can encourage and support, or they can shred someone else. Lord, help me be very careful with mine.
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Praying for –
THERESE – upcoming surgery
LAURA – husband’s recovery from surgery
MARGARET W – wisdom as you help your son navigate the challenges, and especially that he will turn back to the Lord.
HEIDI – Ryan
LEANNE THOMPSON – your coworker as her FIL moving in will bring challenges
SUSAN JOINER – Wyatt’s PET scan results
ALEIDA – you, Victor and your husband and the time spent together
TAMI – BJ
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CEE GEE and TRACI GENDRON – thank you for reminding that troubles and pain aren’t wasted.
And CEE GEE – love that song!
RHONDA J – congrats to Stacy!
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So thankful to be forgiven.
Ms. Claire Gibson, you nailed it for me. I often apply the 70 x 7 passage to forgiving the same incident. When thr offense is stirred up in my heart or mind, it is an effort to release it to God again. He will judge.
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LAURA – praying your husband’s surgery was successful
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SUSAN JOINER – praying Wyatt gets an “all clear” PET scan reading.
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LEANNA THOMPSON – prayers for your coworker.
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HEIDI- prayers for your husband and that you got some solid sleep in last night
Father thank You for your Grace and Mercy. Guide my heart to the same. In Jesus name, Amen
Good morning, Sisters!
I don’t know about you, but forgiveness can be hard for me. I have been wronged in my life, as have most all of us, and that doesn’t often bring thoughts of forgiveness. But then, conveniently, I am reminded of all the things I have done wrong and the people I have hurt and how Jesus died for my forgiveness. I want others to forgive me, so in return, I need to extend the love and forgiveness that The Lord has extended to me.
I think we need to remember though; forgiveness doesn’t mean that we or someone else doesn’t have to suffer the consequences of our actions. In 2 Samuel 12, David suffered the consequences for being with Bathsheba even after he had been forgiven by God. Others suffered right along with him because of what he had done.
I am grateful for the grace and forgiveness God gives. We just have to choose to accept it. We also have to realize it doesn’t take away all of the pain of our actions, but certainly can give us freedom in Christ.
Not sure if any of what was in my heart and head came out right, but I hope you get what I am saying.
Dear Sisters, I am keeping you and your requests in prayer. Have a blessed Thursday.
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You expressed your heart perfectly, Tricia! Wise words. Thank you! ❤
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Amen Tricia!!!
Yes, Tricia! Christ gives freedom to the hurting heart!