Most Loving Savior, You’ve counselled me that, if I forgive others for the things they’ve said or done to me, You would also forgive me for the errors and omissions that I have made toward You. You’ve made it clear that You want me to be liberal in my forgiveness of others because over my lifetime I will need much forgiveness from You. You say that, if my brother sins against me, I should admonish and counsel him and, if he repents, I am to forgive him. Before I pray, You want me to seek forgiveness when I’ve sinned against others. If I do as You request, I can come to You with a clean slate and my heart in the right place. My mission in life is to do as You did … bearing one another’s burdens, forgiving those who have hurt me and becoming a peacemaker. My gaze should always be forward, where hope and my mission reside, and not looking back grudgingly, with regrets and animosity.
I must not hold on to my hurts and failures of the past … nor consider what might have been … but look hopefully to the future where new and positive things will become a normal part of my life. Like the spring, when freshness and newness permeates everything, I want my life to be filled with optimism and not become dragged down by failure, unforgiven hurts and resentment. I want to see the dry places in my life spring to life with rivers of living water that come from within. If I suffer rejection, suffering and grief for the things done to me, I will offer them up as a sacrifice to You. When I do something good and suffer patiently with my affliction, You smile down on me. When I suffer abuse, help me not become an abuser … when I grieve, help me not lash out … when I am judged, help me to not judge … and, when I’m aggrieved, help me pay back with kindness and forgiveness.
You remind me in Your Word that “vengeance is Yours, You will repay” and “You are the judge of all” … not me. I must accept the fact that trials are a part of my life. If another person is the source of my trial, I should pray for them and work to mitigate the circumstances causing the turmoil. I have confidence that the Holy Spirit will calm my emotions, cause me to think wisely and act in love. Love is who You are … forgiveness is who You are … reconciliation is who You are … forgetting a wrong done is who You are … and, that’s what I must become. To love my enemies is a tough command, but Your way is to bless those who curse me … do good to those who hate me … and, pray for those who hurt me. Your mission for me is to not return evil for an evil done to me. That is how You could say “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” I know that to learn forgiveness is to learn about You. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.