Getting the Right Picture

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (New International Version)

There are times when I struggle with concepts because I fail to have a good picture of what that concept looks like and means. Such has been the case with forgiveness. While I could be told what forgiveness is and what it isn’t, there was still a part of me that needed a specific picture of it that made sense. Something that I could hold up as a standard for myself and use as a key to unlock chains of bitterness, resentment, ill feelings, and discomfort at not only seeing an individual but at the very thought of them. I needed something beyond just saying, “I forgive them.” I needed something for me.

One of things that continue to touch me deeply about God is that He is willing to go to any lengths to give me the pictures I need. He knows when I am grasping a truth and when I am floundering. He knows the discouragement that can set in when I know I am not “getting” it! Yesterday, during a walk I poured out my heart to God on this very issue. Forgiveness! My struggle wasn’t really with people who wronged me purposefully. That is not usually the case for me. My struggle was with people who unintentionally and even unknowingly hurt or disappointed me. I knew they had not sinned against me….their words or actions (or the lack thereof) hurt me but they didn’t violate a command of God by any means. My problem was that I didn’t know what THAT kind of forgiveness looked like. I wasn’t even sure forgiveness was the answer to my dilemma.

God was gracious to let me know an aspect of forgiveness that would definitely apply to such times. For each person, forgiveness entailed a conscious decision on my part to no longer hold particular things against them. Holding something against someone means I dwell on it, I define them by it, I refuse to give up my negative feelings toward them, and I continue to walk with the weight of being offended and hurt. When I could see that picture, I had something tangible to act upon. I had no trouble knowing what it meant to hold something against someone and I had no trouble knowing what it meant to not hold something against them.

This morning, God took delight in each decision I made to no longer hold things against individuals. Tears came as I not only chose to release them from what I was holding against them, but as I also spoke the truth about them. Before my prayer time was up, God nudged me to be gracious to myself as well. He encouraged me to stop holding the many things against myself that I had been so prone to do. What a precious God!

Father, I can no longer say I don’t understand. You have made it clear and painted an incredible picture for me. I praise Your name! Amen.

What Sin? By Morgan Cryar
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qaMIeOKQVDs&feature=related

I am honored and privileged to share these devotional thoughts with you each week. Feel free to forward them on to those whom you think would benefit from them. Also feel free to copy them for your personal files or notebooks. May God individualize each message for you personally.