Do You Have a Hard Time When it Comes to...

...Forgiving others?

  I mean REALLY forgiving them... the way Jesus wants us to? I think this quote by C.S. Lewis really says it well...

source

  As sinners, which is obviously what we all are, forgiving others who have hurt us is never going to be easy. I know in my own life it never is. I have recently had to accept the fact that at some point, you just have to learn to make peace with certain circumstances and move on. After all, it really isn't MY job to judge those who have wronged me. That's God's job. The only thing we are doing when we don't forgive others is making our own lives miserable. 

  As C.S. Lewis states in the quote above, God really has forgiven the inxcusable in me. So the way I look at it, if God can forgive me, why can't I do the Christian thing and forgive others. I used to often use the phrase "Be the bigger person," but now I like to think of it as "Doing the right thing." Forgiving makes me no better than another person, it just frees me of them and means they no longer have power over my life.

   This is one of my favorite scriptures about forgiveness...

"And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you."

                            Ephesians 4:32

  This verse is also one of my favorites. It reminds me that God is faithful to forgive, I simply have to confess my sins to Him...  

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

                                   1 John 1:9

  I saw a keychain once that read "I'm not perfect, just forgiven." Isn't that a wonderful way to respond when we, as Christians, are so closely judged by those around us? I'm not saying, by any means, that we should just go out and intentionally live a sinful life... I'm just saying that when we do make mistakes, it is wonderful knowing that we serve a very loving and forgiving Father?!

  Are you having a difficult time forgiving someone who has mistreated you? Why not just turn to God and ask Him to grant you peace with that situation? I promise you will be so much happier if you do. It will feel like a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders... :)

 

  Thanks SO much for stopping by! If any of you ever need prayers, remember that you are more than welcome to email me anytime at all and I will be more than happy to pray for you. I hope you all have a blessed week!:) Oh, and one more thing! I have a surprise post planned for you all this week, so be sure to stop back by! I have a pretty fun announcement to make along with it! I'm pretty excited about something I'll be having here at Homemaker in Heels soon! :)