~ 2 Kings 5:10b
Elisha told Naaman to do this to rid Naaman of his leprosy but he refused to at first, he wanted a fast result.......just as you and I ignore certain instructions from the Lord. We too want fast results, why would we possible want to work at something.
Page 130 in Greater by Steven Furtick he ask "What is the Jordan River in your life? What is the one thing about which you would say, "I will do anything God asks me to do -as long as it is not that""? While reading and re-reading the part in Chapter 9 ~ it hit me hard and my heart was pounding inside my chest. God was speaking directly towards me in this section of the book. You see for the longest time I have been ignoring that one request from God, telling myself, everything was fine - Yet it is not. God is asking me to Forgive, he has been telling me over and over to forgive a family member and I have ignored him, the pain is too deep and how could I possibly forgive this person.
I have argued with God over this with the typical "it was not me why should I forgive" or "I didn't do anything wrong, why" then I also told myself I had already forgive but truly I had/have not. Then again on pg. 130 in Greater, "Is it that one person you said you would never forgive"?....Wow there is was shooting out off the page at me,
"Lauren, trust me it is time to Forgive ~ God".
Oh Lord, WHY? I was so close to this person, talked weekly, I looked up to him, he was my best friend, then like a light switch for No reason, no explanation, he completely shut me out of his life....why why should I forgive, it hurts to much.
It was right then I realized I needed to dip in the Jordan River myself, it was time, Time to Trust and listen to the Lord.
Time To Forgive!
The Bible says in Matthew we are to forgive our brothers,
"Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he has sinned against me? Up to Seven times?" Jesus answered, " I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21
Or one of My favorites ~ Forgive one Another:
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against each one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
God wants us to forgive even when it is the hardest or might hurt, but he will get us threw it. Just because we forgive does not mean that we have to have a relationship with this person again, we are closing that door and moving forward, not holding on to the past.
So I am going to listen to the Lord and start forgiving - because even though it hurts (hurts a lot) I am going to listen to the instructions I am being told, I am going to take that dip in the Jordan, and I know I can and will get threw this because God is on my side.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trust in him, and I am helped.
Psalm 28:7
I love this statement I heard at my Women's Retreat with my Church "Faith strengthens our hearts ~ as we Trust in the Lord." So since my faith is strong , I will trust in the Lord and I will Forgive, so that I may be lead to Greater things God has in store for me ~ My Heart will heal.
I can do anything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
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| Picture Created By Veronica L. Herzing |
:) Lauren :) You have written a post that helped me so much. Forgiveness. I think I have that same message blinking on my screen. It is the hardest when it involves having your heart broken. It just helps so much when another OBS sister reminds me that I am not alone. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Marcie ~ I agree it is nice to know we do not have to go through this struggle alone! Love you Lady, keeping you in my Prayers and Remember we have God on our side ;)
DeleteHugs and Prayers! ALWAYS!
DeleteThis post speaks to me, too. I suffer from the burden of needing to forgive, but, fighting it. As a result of the study, I read a book by Lewis B. Smedes, "The Art of Forgiving:When You Need to Forgive and Don't Know How." This is an excellent companion book to GREATER for those of us who need to cross the Forgiveness river.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing with me. Just know God is with us and yes I agree it is very hard to forgive, especially when it is so close to our hearts but God wants us too. I have been fighting it for 3 1/2 years and with this book God spoke to me and said it is time. I will keep you in my prayers ~ sending you hugs
DeleteI love you, Lauren. It's so hard to forgive... and even when we think we have, it keeps coming up. My husband and I had some trouble this past summer... it had actually been brewing for a while before that. If I had written about my Jordan, that would have been it... forgiving him. We are now doing better than we ever have... and it is God. Only God.
ReplyDeleteI love you too! I am glad to hear that your marriage is stronger! and yes you are right ...it is God and only God!
DeleteLove it Lauren. I've learned forgiveness is easier for me today than it used to be. Have to use that 100/0 principle. I give 100 no matter what they give. Blessings sister. Debbie T. Williams (OBS Leader)
ReplyDeleteThank you Debbie
DeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteThis probably is one of the hardest things to do. Our flesh does not like this act of forgiveness at all! Our feathers get all ruffled, we puff out with pride (I didn't do anything wrong - it was all them), and we strut our holiness, our godliness, our righteousness! We're like roosters! YUK - I don't want to be a rooster!
So first I must repent of the sin of pride - then I must seek forgiveness - such a humbling thought.
Thank you for the reminder. I believe so many of us have this buried somewhere in our hearts and/or lives. And we won't be trusted with Greater, until we can be trusted with obedience in the smaller things.
Blessings,
Catherine
OBS Group Leader
Catherine ~ thank you! Thank you for your words, and for sharing my blog!
Deletexoxo
Great post Lauren. I learned the "forgiveness lesson" very early on in my christian walk and it is perhaps the only lesson that I need to remember daily!
ReplyDeleteI'll probably see you sometime, floating in the Jordan River!
Love and blessings
Nicki
Nicki~ I pray someday we can meet face to face and hug and well if it is at the Jordan River that will be fine too!
DeleteLove and Blessings to You ~ thank you for being an inspiration!