Because he first loved me

The amazing love that Christ poured out for me in his life and his death is overwhelming to me. In my times of deepest sorrow when I feel lost and afraid turning to him and letting his love pour over me is like nothing I can describe. There is peace in praying and reflecting on his word. A peace like none you will find anywhere else.

Even though I find peace resting in God; I still have bad days. We all have them. I still stumble and fall. I still know people who are suffering, have tragically lost a loved one, or faced something they didn't expect. There are days when I feel overwhelmed. There are still people out there who have hurt me. There are still people out there who cut me off in traffic, or cut in line at the grocery store. I still run into frustrating times. I still get angry. I have a temper, and I admit that I get really mad and bitter sometimes about stupid stuff. Collosians 3: ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

I want to stay mad and angry. I like to let that wound fester for a while. I want to complain and be mad at the person who has hurt me. Hey isn't it normal to be angry. It's what everyone is doing. Besides its hard to forgive people especially as Jesus forgave me. To me this means I should freely forgive no matter how hurt I have been. Freely forgiving is scary, what if they hurt me again. This is the part that so many of us struggle with. Just because you forgive someone doesn't mean you are letting them walk all over you. Forgiveness doesn't mean you put yourself in a dangerous situation again, it means you let go of the bitterness. Forgiveness is about moving on. It is about letting go of all the bitterness that consumes you and allowing yourself to be enfolded in love and grace. You can step away from that person, but you need to forgive them. If your best friend gossips about you, or your co-worker throws you under the bus its not an excuse to be bitter. Just because I forgive you for hurting me does not mean I will allow you to do it again. I will now know what can happen and I will react differently. When I am holding onto something and cannot let it go it keeps me from truly experiencing what God wants for me. Bitterness and anger is like a rock weighing me down, when I forgive the rock just disappears and I am free again.

Luke 6: 27-28 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. The bible not only tells us to forgive, but says pray for those who would hurt you. If someone hurts you don't hold onto the bitterness, but pray for that person and forgive them. This one is really hard because how do I word a prayer for someone who I don't like? How do I word a prayer for my enemy? Now I do have some experience with this. I prayed and prayed for people who really made my life miserable. They were not nice people. I prayed for them, and something happened to me. I don't know if my reaction to them changed or if God shielded me from their cruelness, but over time I was less affected by them. I didn't notice a change in them, but I did notice a change in my circumstances. I think that God does this a lot. If you pray for your enemies you will be surprised at what God can do. Remember God can do all things!

I really like the way Chris August puts it in his song 7x70

7 times 70 times
I'll do what it takes to make it right
I thought the pain was here to stay
But forgiveness made a way

7 times 70 times
There's healing in the air tonight
I'm reaching up to pull it down
Gonna wrap it all around

Also if you want you can check out the video message from my church this past Sunday all about forgiveness!