You are Capable...

Forgiveness ~ it’s not about giving up your right to know why… it’s about giving it up to care why! I know I have been forgiven for so much from God, & I am sure I have been forgiven for things from others that I didn’t even know about. What is mind-boggling is how does someone forgive what someone has done against them or to them??? Just like salvation, forgiveness is a step of faith. I can pray & pray for God to give me a forgiving heart, but until I actually make the choice to forgive, my prayers really are fruitless!

I was thinking of how I carried around unforgivenesss for years, I didn’t even realize it! One day God showed me that it was there, so I knew I had to give it up & forgive this person. Did I get the answers I wanted? Did I get an apology from this person? Nope! But that was okay… just saying those words, “I forgive!” what freedom came in that moment! I was able to let go of the hurt, the questions, even the bad memories were gone. Did God erase it? Not really, but it just didn’t matter anymore! I had found the freeing power of forgiveness! The human heart has the capability to truly forgive, it is usually the brain that gets in the way, or “our rights”. As a Believer of Christ, we have received great grace & mercy. It wasn’t right that Christ should die from our sins, but it was righteousness that brought Him to that place. Think of all you have been forgiven of. God pours out grace each time we do something wrong. I came across this scripture & I was reminded that grace was poured out on me through Christ’s sacrifice for my forgiveness & salvation, but also so I can pour grace out on others who have wronged me.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession (faith). For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  

~ Hebrews 4:14-16

So what if today you give up your right to be right & choose to be righteous??? What if you choose freedom through forgiveness over pain & resentment through unforgiveness??? Have you heard the quote, “Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?” The choice is yours! I am not saying it is easy, & I definitely am not saying that what has happened to you is okay… I am sorry for the pain that has been caused in your life… but I am reminding you that there are many people in this world that have chosen to forgive horrible, horrible things & are living happy lives in freedom. Let go of the burden!

Rejoicing in Truth!

Carin

Delights in Mercy...

Thinking of the time when I was a teenager, I was walking down a sidewalk at night & I fell over a post that was lying across my path. There was lights in the parking lot where I was, but the sidewalk was pitch black, because shadows made it so dark. I can remember thinking someone hit me from behind… it was like I was knocked to the ground out of nowhere! As I picked myself up & got to my feet… I don’t remember if I was crying, but I probably was because I cry over almost everything! J I do remember thinking what in the world happened to me… I didn’t see that coming at all! My jeans were torn, & my leg was bleeding, & of course my pride was hurt, but overall I was okay!

I know for myself I have had the same experience in my spiritual life as well. I would be walking along the path, minding my own business… light is around me, but I chose to step off the lighted path into the shadows. God is still with me, but I am not listening to His call to get back on His lighted path… I am trusting in my own direction! And He let me go… He even let me fall… but He was there to pick me up & comfort my wounds when I was ready to turn back to Him! That doesn’t mean I didn’t have scars or consequences from my choice to get off track… it just means like the best parent you could ask for, He was there for me!

And you know, after that little spill I took on the sidewalk, it made me way more cautious of walking without light on the path… both in the physical & the spiritual!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalms 119:105

As I was thinking about this these verses in Micah came to my mind… “Don’t laugh at me, my enemies. Although I’ve fallen, I will get up. Although I sit in the dark, the Lord is my light.  I have sinned against the Lord. So I will endure His fury until he takes up my cause and wins my case. He will bring me into the light, and I will see His victory.” Micah 7:8-9  And in verse 18 it says… “Who is a God like you? You forgive sin and overlook the rebellion of Your faithful people. You will not be angry forever, because You delight in mercy.”

He delights in mercy! I am so thankful I serve & am loved by a merciful God! Aren’t you?

Rejoicing in Truth!

Carin