Forgiveness...Featuring Kathy Grisham

 Matthew 6:12
and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Matthew 6:14

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

Matthew 6:15

But if refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Forgiveness........

What a word. 

We are commanded to forgive those that hurt us.

If we do decide to forgive, we sometimes say "Well I'll forgive, but I will never forget."

That's not what God's word says. 

We are to forgive and never bring it up again.

That's what he does, when we ask for forgiveness. He forgives and never thinks about it again. Forever forgotten.

Let me tell you a little story about forgiveness.

Once upon a time there was this man and this woman. They fell in love  got married, and had kids.

Life wasn't always easy, times were tough, but they seemed happy enough.

28 years pass and one day the woman comes home from work and there is a note on the table. The man is leaving her, for another woman.

 In a heated moment the woman calls the "other" woman and cusses her out. Calls her every bad name she can think of.

The man and woman talk and decide to reconcile.

Fast forward 5 years. The man and the woman cannot make their marriage work any longer. Divorce papers are signed and filed.

Divorce is granted.

A few months after the divorce, the woman is having a very bad time. Her ex husband

is getting married (and not to the woman he left her for).

Her heart is breaking. As she is working one day, she silently prays to God to help her. To heal her heart so she can move on.

She begs the Lord to show her what she needs to do to move on with her life.

As she is working, the Lord speaks to her heart.

"Do you remember the night you called ******** and cussed her out?"

"Yes Lord I do", she replies.

"If you want to truly be healed, call her and ask her to forgive you for the way you talked to her."

"Are you serious Lord? After what she did to me?"

And she remembered the Lord's prayer. Forgive us our trespasses  as we forgive those who trespass against us.

After much prayer, questioning God's motives, and just really not wanting to do it, she relents.

During her lunch break she calls the all too familiar number.

The ring tone on the other woman's phone was.....I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me.

It goes to voice mail and at the end of the message the woman says, God bless you.

With a trembling voice, the woman leaves a message.

I'm calling to ask you to forgive me for what I called you that night 5 years ago. It wasn't all your fault. No one should be called what I called you and I ask that you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

What happened next can only be described as a miracle.

A weight was lifted from the woman. A huge burden had been lifted. Even if the other woman didn't forgive her, she had done as the Lord asked.

 She felt such a peace in her soul.

The other woman called her back later that day and they talked . She forgave the woman and asked if the wife could forgive her for breaking up her marriage.

Forgiveness was given all around that day.

And it was the hardest thing I have ever had the Lord ask me to do.

When I called that woman that night,I wanted her hurting, just like I was.

When someone does something to hurt us, our first response is to get even. To hurt them as they have hurt us.

We hurt God each and every day. We talk about people, we deny him, we go about our own selfish, self centered way.

Thanks and praises to God, he doesn't feel the same way we do!!!!!!!!

 If we ask, he will forgive us, because he loves us so much.

When God is in our heart, we want to please him. We want to live as he would have us to live. And sometimes he asks us to do very hard things for him. 

But he asks so we can begin healing.

We don't understand why things happen. We cannot begin to know God's mind. But we can know that whatever situation we find our self in, God is there with us.

If I hadn't listened to God and done what he asked, I believe I would still be miserable and living in the past.

I would have had a hatred in my heart for this person that never would have ended.

But by listening to God and doing as he asked, I have a peace now that I would not have had. I can truly say I have nothing against that woman and consider her a friend. We have never met face to face but we do talk occasionally and I pray for her.

Dear God, Thank you for sending your son to die for our sins. Thank you for the forgiveness that you give. Help us to always listen to you and to do as you ask of us, even when it is very hard for us to do. Thank you for your peace, grace and mercy. Help me to become who you want me to be and to always be willing to forgive others.

In Jesus name I ask this, Amen

Is there someone in your life that you need to forgive? Is there someone in your life that you need to ask to forgive you?

Pray about it and see what God will lead you to do. 

Blessings,

Kathy