“God promises to take evil and use it for good.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 30, 2024
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34
Perhaps you’ve heard it said that we grow the most during difficult times. I have found that to be true. It’s also been true for me that through difficult times, not only have I grown the most, but my desire to obey Christ has grown as well.
As part of my increased desire to obey in my current challenging season, I’ve been thinking about forgiveness and how important it is for the believer. Unfortunately, many people often secretly feel that if they hold a grudge or hold onto offense that the Lord will understand, because He understands the depth of the pain we have experienced—and so it’s okay if we don’t forgive. (I’ve been there!)
But this is not what Scripture says. In Matthew 6:14-15 Jesus says something sobering, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If we want to live in the freedom Christ offers and we want to experience His goodness, we want to take all He says to heart and be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Forgiveness is a mark of a true follower of Jesus.
So, I recently grabbed a notepad and pen and recorded the names of people who have hurt me and prayed over each one, confessing forgiveness and asked God to bless them. But honestly, it hurt to think of all the hurt. On the page it looked like a big pile of pain. This injustice here. That injustice there.
I told Jesus, “It just hurts too much to think about all those people who hurt me.”
Then, a flood of thoughts came into my mind. It was as if the Lord was speaking directly to me, so I wrote it down.
It will hurt until you get the right perspective. People wounded you out of their own deception, their own pain, their own prejudice, insensitivity, callousness, and brokenness.
If you internalize the messages you received from the pain, it will still hurt, but those messages were not made for your heart. You were not made to own the messages that came from the pain that others caused.
You’ll be able to fully let go of the pain when you see that who others said you are, through their lack of tenderness, isn’t who you are at all. You aren’t unworthy of love. You aren’t worth despising. You aren’t trash, a throwaway person. You are a beloved daughter, a daughter of the Most High King. You’ll be able to let go when you see that I am larger and bigger than any wrong that has been done to you. Your job is to grow from what has happened. Your job is to allow your internal world to grow rather than to shrink. I have called you to become more like Me.
You will shrink internally if you focus on the injustice and refuse to forgive. But your internal world will grow if you focus on the opportunity. There is opportunity in all pain. People who learn how to make pain work for them know how to see that I am above it all, weaving it into a redemptive story.
The hurtful things that have been done to you don’t have to subtract from you. They can add to you, as you allow Me to use them for good, to make you a better person with a bigger heart, and with more love to give. When you choose love over unforgiveness and hatred, you will grow in ways that please Me. And you will not grieve the Holy Spirit.
Certainly, there are consequences. Yes, you have lost some things because of what has been done and said to you. But I promise to take evil and use it for good. If you fail to embrace this truth, you will stay stuck in unforgiveness, stuck in feeling like a victim, stuck in “What if?” Let me take what has happened and make something beautiful out of it. Let it all redefine you for the better. This can only happen if you forgive. So let go of grudges. Let go and start anew. When you hold onto unforgiveness of any kind, it will hold you back from what I have for you—and it will give the devil a foothold.
Are you ready to receive the blessings the Lord has for you through forgiving others?
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
Prayer
Lord, I lay down all unforgiveness that I have toward anyone who has hurt me. I receive your emotional and spiritual healing and I bless those who have hurt me. Amen.
Application
Make a list of those you need to forgive, pray over each one, and thank God for the lessons that they have brought into your life.
Related Reading
Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 6:14; Mark 11:25
Worship Resource
Generation Worship: I Surrender All
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