Today, here's an excerpt from the book Restoring Broken Relationships: The Path to Peace and Forgiveness.
“‘I was taking a break after giving a message on forgiveness when a lady approached me and said, ‘Just forgive them! You want me to just forgive them for ruining my life?’ Ten years earlier her best friend had run off with her husband. From her perspective they seemed to be getting on with their lives very well. They lived in a nice house and went on expensive vacations. Neither of them had shown any remorse for their sin, and neither had made any attempt to reconcile with her. Meanwhile this poor lady was reliving the pain every day and was hanging on to the past with all her might. For some sad reason, she thought that hanging on to her bitterness was a way of getting even with them, when all it was doing was contributing to her agony. Bitterness is like swallowing poison and hoping the other person will die.
I said to her, "I see a hurting person with one arm thrust in the air with a closed fist, but the strong arm of God has a firm grasp around your wrist. You are not even hanging on to God, but He is hanging on to you. Your other arm is dragging you down while you firmly hang on to your past. Why don’t you consider letting the past go and grab hold of God with all your might? All you are doing is hurting yourself."
"But you don’t understand how badly they hurt me," she protested.
"They are still hurting you," I said. "Forgiveness is God’s way of stopping the pain. When you let go of the past, it no longer has a hold on you and you will establish communion with your heavenly Father who loves you."
She did. The next morning she was singing in the church choir, and the change in her countenance was noticed by everybody who knew her.” (bold added)
Today, we pray that with God’s help, you’ll be able to let go of the pain of your past and draw near to God with all your might.
Here is Jesus’s promise for you: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” (see the Bible, Isaiah 61:1)
May your day be filled with His presence. May His peace and love overflow in you!
Thanks for existing!
