Father, Forgive Me.

Anyone who has said The Lord’s Prayer will be familiar with the part where we state, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This very simple statement is about forgiving others just like we ask God to do for us. I struggle with this sometimes. I become so angry when I see others who maliciously malign or mistreat others, just because that person thinks and believes differently than they do. I want them to be able to see how hypocritical they are! Of course, hypocrites don’t see themselves the way that we do. However hard it is to see these acts done to someone who simply tells the truth, I know that I must forgive them. I also know that I need to pray for them. I also realize that God sees everything. There is nothing that we can hide from Him. He also states in the bible that “vengeance is mine”. I just wish that His timetable on justice was the same as my timetable!

This leads me to another thought. How can He forgive us if we are holding onto all the issues we are having trouble forgiving in others?

The problem is that we can’t “walk” the path of a Christian if we don’t “talk” the same path of a Christian. I have found that some Christians are what I like to call “surface Christians” or “Sunday Christians”. Oh, these people go to church, sing the songs and shout loud “Amens!!” but that’s only because they are in front of others. Once they’ve gotten out of the church building and sometimes even before they’ve gotten out of the parking lot, it’s not a pretty story! They are cussing and yelling and doing all sorts of things that don’t show their Christian side at all.

Now, I have another thought. I read this on Pinterest and I will paraphrase it, but it goes something like this, “If you could do anything, and no one would know what you did, would you still do it anyway?”. That statement really got me thinking and my answer is no, I couldn’t do it. Why? I would know and God would know what I did. What’s done in secret is never truly secret. If you can’t talk about things that happen in your life with others, then it’s not something that you should be doing. Period! Please also realize that If someone does something to you that is inappropriate, remember that you are a victim of that other person’s actions. Please talk to someone about it and realize that you are not at fault, at all! (Related post: God’s Promise).

So, what did I learn from this? It’s hard to look in the mirror and see the mistakes that I’ve made. It’s also hard to look at what others have done to me and forgive them. If I choose not to forgive them, then that anger that I feel becomes a burden that weighs me down and keeps me from knowing the full splendor of God’s love. I also realize that that person’s sin is still there, it’s just for God to handle now. I’ve stepped away from it and released the anchor that kept me from getting away from it. He has freed me from it!

What can you gain from this? It’s amazing the freedom that comes with letting go of the pain that you have for that person. Remember, God’s got this. He never lets you down or lets you go down a path by yourself. Sometimes, we need to see that it wasn’t God who shut the door but yourself who did it. All you need to do now? Just give all your struggles to Him. He wants to help you, no matter the circumstance that you find yourself in. (Related post: God’s Got This)