Out of the Files…
Today I went through a number of emails and discovered quite a few posts that I had forgotten about. Here is one:
| Take Heart – Ask and Keep on Asking! The last few weeks we have talked alot about forgiveness. It seems to be the topic of so many messages that we hear and read today. Even though it may appear to be overkill, I believe the reason it is so pervasive, because the effects of unforgiveness are running rampant, even in the body of Christ! This is no forum for medical diagnosis but it is safe to say, when we are happy, healthy, and whole – we tend to approach life with enthusiasm; we’re active, we laugh, we love, we want to be around people. Depression tends to make us “go within” and stay there- it tends to cause us to be overconsumed with ourselves and thus every pain, everything that looks like a symptom of sickness becomes magnified. My personal experience with learning how to forgive has not been an easy one. I tend to ”love” hard, and when I am hurt by those I “love” or ”trusted” – it tends to be just as hard for me to get over it. Thus, I don’t speak from a place where “everything rolls off of my back like a duck” – I speak from a place of intense emotion – whether positive or negative. What I have learned however, that unforgiveness never does me good. I almost always have a resulting physical effect from negative emotions. I learned the hard way that it is always in my best interest to forgive and to the extent possible cast that spirit into the sea of forgetfulness and remember it no more! What I have also learned is that it is not usually something that can be done in one day. My pattern kind of goes like this: have to see the need to forgive, constantly harboring on someone’s actions towards me and holding them in captivity by avoiding them, or some other negative response is a sure indication that I have been offended – and need to release that offense. Not being able to pray, feeling no victory in my prayers – is another sign that my heart is filled with something other than the love of God. Not resting well – tossing and turning – thinking about the person or situation that caused me the offense and not getting much needed rest – it is time to let it go! Having irregular eating patterns – eating too much, or eating the wrong thing are also triggers for me. Whenver these things appear, and become regular, I ask the Father to forgive me, and to help me forgive the one who offended me. No matter how sincere I am, it seems as if I still have some way to go before I really can either ask the person for forgiveness, or if the person may not be aware of the offense, (and sometimes they don’t need to be made aware just to make you feel better) – I recognize that forgiveness has kicked in and I can approach the relationship with freedom. This may not be your experience; my point here is not to give a formula, but to encourage those of you who may be struggling with unforgiveness to have hope – as we approach our Father with a sincere heart, and appropriate the work of the shed blood of our Savior into and upon our lives – whatever the problem – whatever the situation – He will bring us through in victory. The key thing is to understand that He is not mad at us when we have to “ask and keep on asking” – He doesn’t throw us away when we don’t get ir right the first time. Our Father is more loving, more patient, more understanding than we can fathom and most of all He wants us to come through every trial we face victorious inside and out! Blessings,Maria |