Forgive
Forgiveness is one of the hardest things we as humans have to do. We tend to pick and choose who to forgive if we forgive anyone at all. We’re not consistent about it, and those who we do forgive very seldom stay forgiven. We’ve been hurt, betrayed, dumped on, taken advantage of, lied to, stolen from, deceived, manipulated, and abused. It’s a long list, and most of it has been done to us by people we love, or at least we care about them. We go back time and time again with family, friends, and co-workers with the same results. What’s wrong with me, you ask yourself.
I want you to try something. Take the list and go to the mirror. Read each item out loud and after each one, look at yourself. Be honest with yourself. How does it make you feel? Do you feel anger towards yourself? How about guilt? Does it make you remember things that you have done to others or yourself? When it comes to forgiveness, we find that the hardest person to forgive is ourselves.
To forgive ourselves is first to admit that we have done something wrong. When we reflect on our past, on what we have done, we may feel hopeless. We think about decisions we’ve made, the hurt we have caused others. It brings us regret and self-condemnation. Our inner guilt leads to other destructive decisions, a continued cycle of denial, and remorse causing depression and a loss of self-worth. We suffer from anger, rage, lashing out at others, or withdrawing ourselves from life. We pull away from those who care, deliberately saying or doing hurtful things to push them away. We may mask our pain by self-medication—the use of drugs and alcohol. There is sexual promiscuity, cheating on your spouse or partner, putting yourself out there to be used thinking that it helps deal with the pain. There are so many ways we punish ourselves, trying to forget or run from our past. But there is hope; His name is Jesus.
God sent Jesus to us so that we may be reconciled with our Heavenly Father. Jesus was sent to, among other things, forgive us of our sins. (‘ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ‘ John 3:16-17) We must accept Jesus for who He is and believe that He forgives all sins equally. There is nothing that you have done that He didn’t already die for. We are ashamed, embarrassed, and at times so guilt-ridden that we believe we could never be forgiven. But we can. We pray to Jesus and ask to be forgiven. Name the sin and ask, giving a full confession. Be sincere and honest with Him. He is waiting for you. When we can forgive ourselves, it makes it easier to forgive others.
Forgiveness is a requirement to follow Jesus and gain access to Heaven. Here on Earth, forgiveness releases us from burdens, frees us from the bonds and slavery of guilt, and regret that is holding us back from our happiness and true purpose of this life. Anything that restricts us from our true self is of the enemy, Satan. He wants you to stay in bondage, and he wants you to always live in the flesh – drug addiction, being an alcoholic, lust, and so much more. When you want to stop, he tells you how worthless you are and points out how you hurt others by this lifestyle. He makes you believe that you will always fail, so why even try. When you confess your sins to Jesus, it’ll relieve you of this satanic lie. You will do better, feel better and start living a life worthy of what Jesus did for you.
If you have not already asked Jesus into your life, or if you feel as if you want to reconnect, from your heart, pray to Him and ask. There is a prayer box on the side of this blog. Go to it and recite the prayer. If you need support doing this, please find a church that teaches the bible. You can email me, and I’ll do what I can to help. This is only a blog with information. Find fellowship with others and learn God’s word. As it is written ‘“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”’ John 8:32.
That's What Faith Can Do
How much faith does a person need to have? It has been said that we only need to have a mustard seed of faith. What about when the desert surrounds us? What about when there is not a weed in sight? What about when we are in the wilderness, and we can’t find the words to pray because we have no words to say?
What about when we are in the dark and hopelessness surrounds us, and desperation is the only oxygen we breathe? Have you ever felt that way? Can you relate at all? “He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
God makes faith obtainable with no requirements or restrictions. There is no cost for us to acquire faith. Faith is not rewarded based on our good deeds. Faith is not withheld based on our bad deeds either. God doesn’t dole faith out in different portions depending upon our good or poor choices. God extends unlimited faith, so faith is within our reach at all times. We actually determine the degree of faith in our lives, not God. We have to believe in faith before we can see faith transform. Our job is to believe that God will do what He says, and it is God’s job to do the rest.
When I got diagnosed with cancer, I went to endless doctor’s appointments. Many tests and procedures were done, which resulted in my faith shrinking. Not once did I doubt that God was with me, but I began to believe that God was not fully aware of what I was going through. I thought God was busy taking care of other people, who were more worthy and were better Christians. Yep, I felt that way, and I reverted back to negative speech so easily as I continued to hit challenging moments, which opened the door for the enemy.
The enemy was quite happy to go along with what I was saying. I received confirmation from the enemy that I was not worthy of what I needed God to do. I believed that I should just keep going and pushing through because I was not meant to have peace. The enemy loved what I was speaking over myself because when I was in the darkness, focusing on myself, I was not letting God do what He needed to do.
It has been said, and I have seen first hand, that when we do all the work, God rests. He waits until we are ready to let Him be God. After the test results were analyzed, I sat down with my doctor, and she went over the results with me and gave me the dreaded news that I would have to do chemotherapy. I was shell-shocked. I was at a loss for words, which does not happen too often. I was devoid of emotion, and I instantly went into emotional survival mode. I listened to my doctor, but I barely processed what she said as if somehow that would stop the news from being real.
The next ten months of my journey through cancer treatment included moments of stress and were emotionally draining, but I can tell you that with God, I came through stronger on the other side as soon as I left that daze of feeling sorry for myself. I realigned my eyes on God. Granted, I had moments of not feeling well, and there were times when I felt isolated, but I knew that God would restore me.
I did not know how and to tell you the truth. I still don’t know how He did it, but God transformed my spirit. No matter what came my way as I endured chemotherapy, the side effects, the Stem Cell Transplant, and the lack of energy, I knew God was in control. I believed that I would be restored and life would begin looking like it had before I received that devastating diagnosis. “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10
You may not be going through cancer, but you are going through something. For me, my mountain, my Goliath was cancer, but yours may be divorce, addiction, abuse, or self-worth. I carried some of those mountains in the past, and at the time, I could not figure out how to not be defined or seen in those negative ways, but God turned it around. He restored my beauty for ashes. He restored my worth and reminded me that I am His!
Whatever you are going through, give it to God! Lay it at His feet and don’t look back. Muster up your faith and believe that God will do a new thing in you, in His time. I can tell you that it was at that time in my life, truly the darkest it had ever been, that God shined the brightest. God gave me hope when I could not see hope. God made a way when I could not see a way. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24