There has been plenty of talk about the errors of high profile people both within & outside the church. We discuss our opinions regarding their errors, which we are entitled to, with deep conviction. I encounter people every day who struggle with the various issues of life. Life is hard, often due to the faults of our own or others. After sharing a small portion of my marriage testimony on my anniversary, I had tons of messages from people regarding their own struggles. The most common question I was asked was, how did we move forward? The biggest hurdle any of us will have to overcome moving forward is forgiveness & grace. Forgiveness becomes an issue when we acknowledge that we have done wrong or wrong has been done to us. Let us be reminded that forgiveness is not excusing or hiding the wrongdoing, but it is a conscious refusal to let the pain continue to remind us of our wrongs or someone else’s wrong & keep us free & open to give and receive love. It also serves as a block against bitterness & other issues that can arise when we don’t allow forgiveness to reign in our hearts. Please know that hurts can cause scars, wounds, & pain but forgiveness is like having a Band-Aid that not only covers the scar, but also removes the pain. You may not be able to erase the memory of a hurt, but forgiveness will certainly erase the continuous pain from it. Then there is the issue of grace, for without it we are nothing. Grace is for all of us who were born into a sin filled world & necessary because of our faulty humanity. If we don’t understand grace, then we cannot understand love & love should be the foundation of all we do. Love covers a multitude of sins 1 Peter 4:8 (notice it didnt detail which sin love covers because God views all sin the same). Although our world would have you believe it does, grace has no boundaries or stipulations. It is available regardless of what weve done or what has been done to us. Our job is to learn to extend grace in the same manner it is given to us. You cannot move forward unless you forgive (whether it be yourself/someone else) & accept or extend grace. You can try to skirt around it, but you won’t get very far. There are many of you who have unknowingly put your dreams & goals on hold because you won’t forgive. Maybe you are living your dreams, but if you have any unforgiveness in your heart, your dream is lacking whether you realize it or not. Unforgiveness is a dream blocker & a joy stealer. Quite frankly, Ive never met a wrongdoing that was worth my dreams or my joy. There is no shortcut or magic pill that will erase or speed up the work moving forward will require, but it is definitely worth it!!
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 16:46:16 +0000
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