I read 1 Kings chapter 2 this morning from an on line reading through the bible series, and this was a comment someone left. It speaks to my heart and want to remember it so I copied and pasted it here
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Condensed from Pastor John Bradshaw, speaker from It Is Written ~ in one of his on-line discussions.....
Forgiveness. It's something we all struggle with.
For a little test, fold your hands together. Now, look down at your hands. Is your left thumb or right thumb on top? 50% of the people in the world will have the right and 50% will have their left thumb on top. It makes no difference if you are right handed or left handed. It's just something we started doing as children, and with no particular "right or wrong" way to do it. Soon it became a habit, and if you try to put the other thumb on top, it will feel strange.
The way we "respond" when we are wronged, is also a habit. Like our thumb exercise we have been pre-wired from a very early age to feel certain ways at certain times. It's an instant response. But forgiveness involves "retraining" ourselves to respond differently to those who hurt us.
Forgiveness is like a clogged up sink....nothing can go down, or clear away, until we deal with this "plug" in our emotions. Forgiveness is the only way you can heal and move forward.
But we can't MAKE ourselves or anyone else, FORGIVE. Only Jesus can enter into our thoughts and emotions, and help start pulling out the grime that is plugging up things. And just like a clogged sink, one push with the plunger probably will not solve the problem. It might take many pushes of the plunger to push away the clog.
Forgiveness is a CHOICE. Every time we are reminded of the situation that brought us pain, we have to "CHOOSE" to say "I forgive." Sometimes, we may be initially reminded of that pain every five minutes. If so, then every five minutes we need to make the "choice" that "I choose RIGHT NOW to forgive and move forward." But little by little, step by step you will move past the first five minutes....then the first hour....then the first day. YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS! With the passage of time, the help of Jesus, and the continued determination to "forgive" the intensity and frequency of your "choice to forgive" will subside. Soon you have created your own new "habit" of forgiving the wrong done to you as you move forward with your life, instead of this heavy burden dragging you down.
Do people really forgive and forget? As we see in today's story of David, that's not physically possible. What goes into our brain stays in our brain for the rest of our lives. But we CAN choose to unplug those emotions by deciding to forgive---repeatedly if necessary.
Remember when Jesus told Peter to forgive up to 70 times 7? That may be the times you "choose to forgive" for just one injury......it's not necessarily 490 different wrongs that were done to you!
For a little test, fold your hands together. Now, look down at your hands. Is your left thumb or right thumb on top? 50% of the people in the world will have the right and 50% will have their left thumb on top. It makes no difference if you are right handed or left handed. It's just something we started doing as children, and with no particular "right or wrong" way to do it. Soon it became a habit, and if you try to put the other thumb on top, it will feel strange.
The way we "respond" when we are wronged, is also a habit. Like our thumb exercise we have been pre-wired from a very early age to feel certain ways at certain times. It's an instant response. But forgiveness involves "retraining" ourselves to respond differently to those who hurt us.
Forgiveness is like a clogged up sink....nothing can go down, or clear away, until we deal with this "plug" in our emotions. Forgiveness is the only way you can heal and move forward.
But we can't MAKE ourselves or anyone else, FORGIVE. Only Jesus can enter into our thoughts and emotions, and help start pulling out the grime that is plugging up things. And just like a clogged sink, one push with the plunger probably will not solve the problem. It might take many pushes of the plunger to push away the clog.
Forgiveness is a CHOICE. Every time we are reminded of the situation that brought us pain, we have to "CHOOSE" to say "I forgive." Sometimes, we may be initially reminded of that pain every five minutes. If so, then every five minutes we need to make the "choice" that "I choose RIGHT NOW to forgive and move forward." But little by little, step by step you will move past the first five minutes....then the first hour....then the first day. YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS! With the passage of time, the help of Jesus, and the continued determination to "forgive" the intensity and frequency of your "choice to forgive" will subside. Soon you have created your own new "habit" of forgiving the wrong done to you as you move forward with your life, instead of this heavy burden dragging you down.
Do people really forgive and forget? As we see in today's story of David, that's not physically possible. What goes into our brain stays in our brain for the rest of our lives. But we CAN choose to unplug those emotions by deciding to forgive---repeatedly if necessary.
Remember when Jesus told Peter to forgive up to 70 times 7? That may be the times you "choose to forgive" for just one injury......it's not necessarily 490 different wrongs that were done to you!
Forgiveness is a choice. OUR CHOICE. It is only possible with Gods help. But it is important for everyone involved to understand it is an emotional wound that cannot be instantly "cured." If someone says they "instantly forgive" they are in denial and haven't worked through the process. Instead forgiveness takes time, patience, and determination to get beyond the pain. It doesn't mean we have to become best friends. It doesn't require singing "Cum-by-Yah" around a campfire or inviting them over for Thanksgiving dinner. In some instances, it may be wise to recall what has happened in the past, so you are not hurt by it again, as in abuse situations.
Forgiveness involves training yourself to develop new habits that deal with hurtful emotions, dropping what happened and moving forward, taking it step by step, minute by minute, with your hand AND your heart, in the hands of God.
Forgiveness involves training yourself to develop new habits that deal with hurtful emotions, dropping what happened and moving forward, taking it step by step, minute by minute, with your hand AND your heart, in the hands of God.
1 comment:
So true.
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