Seeking Him Together: Lesson 9

Goodmorning to all of you lovely lay-deh's!

Let's recap and share where lesson 9 took each of us with the topic of, "Forgiveness: Setting Your Captives Free." I just love the title itself!

This lesson is a good one for me because I definitely have my times of stuggling to forgive. Making It Personal Day 4 (pages 178-184) especially hit me between the eyes and helps me to take a closer look into my heart in this difficult area for me. I know and I've said it before to you girls on here that "if I move pass this thing it makes it seem like it wasn't big to me" translation: (#4) "If I forgive them, they're off the hook!" The answer; I have put myself in the postition of "bill collector" and Romans 12:19 says not to take revenge, leave room for God's wrath. Yikes! It almost makes me feel sorry for the person who wronged me! LOL! So, I guess my husband will pay after all because God's got my back.. or hey, maybe God has his back and not mine! LOL! Really tho..He has both our backs! I know the greater of my stuggles tho is more this one; (#6.) "I believe I have forgiven, but I still struggle with feelings of hurt." Ah, yes.. those lingering feelings. We as women have too stong a tie to our feelings and I think there are times they can be our undoing. If we get biblical and get off the hurt, the feeling stuff, Luke 6:27-31 points the way to peace. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you, turn the other check, if someone takes your coat, don't stop him, give to everyone who asks of you and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to other's as you'd have done to you." Romans 12:17-21 goes onto say; "Don't repay evil for evil. Do what's right in the eyes of everybody. Live at peace with everyone." Uh huh, O.K Lord, I get it. I'll try... harder.

7. b. is something I've had plenty of go rounds with. "What are some of the physical, emotional, and spiritual "tormentors" (Matt 18:34) we might experience in our lives if we are unwilling to forgive? I said: "Anger, emotional exhaustion, we are focused on negative thoughts and the self instead of the Lord and His peace and plan. One may have a desire for revenge and think evil of that person instead of moving toward peace with them and keeping the offender in prayer. There are often feelings of isolation from other's and from God." This is a perfect quote of what bitterness does to us. "Bitterness robs us of joy and peace. It hijacks us, taking us places we never wanted to go, doing things we never wanted to do, and making us people we never wanted to be."-- Bill Elliff (chills) Is this you and me?! voodoo momma's?!

I have experienced this more times than I'd like to admit. The thing that is often most affected is my right relationship with the Lord. When I'm upset, hurt.. I am usually out of whack with my fellowship with the Lord. If I am honest, it is a choice really.. to be angry and focused on that instead of going to the Lord in prayer, reading His word and setting my path straight. I have noticed that is more true when I'm not in a study, going to church, listening to Christian radio, doing my devotional time, et.. and I have to tell you girls that I've not been doing any of those things regularly for a while now. I don't know why! How easy it is to slip slide into apathy and a lax walk with our Father. But, I am aware of it and know what I need to be doing. That is, making my relationship with our Father more of a priority again in the life of myself and my family. This way; I have my mind set on things above when it comes time to face a problem with a loved one and I'm better equipped to handle it in the way the Lord would have me to and to usher in forgiveness.

Here are some good points for us to pull inside our hearts and remember about forgiveness:

Thank God for each person who has wounded you, for they are His instruments to sanctify you-- to mold and conform you to the image of Jesus.

Be careful not to blame them for your wrong attitudes or responses. God does not hold us responsible for the wrongs others have done to us; He only holds us responsible for how we respond to what others do to us.

Forgiveness is not a feeling; rather, it is a choice and an act of the will. It is a commitment to clear the other person's record and never to hold that offense against him.

Don't wait to forgive until you feel emotionally healed from the wound; instead, choose to forgive and let God begin the process of true healing in your life.

Wonderful quote: "To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover the prisoner was you." Ah yes.. it is me dragging those chains around my ankles!




And now, a challenge ladies.. and I KNOW you are up to this! Who can you think of that you need to build a bridge of love to? Who can you return evil for good? What practical things can YOU do? Suggestions: a phone call to check in with this person, send a note or card in the mail to show you care, help out on a project they need help with, go out of your way to serve them, pray for them this week and for their relationship with God and other's." I want to hear a story or two!! I am already thinking about what I can do.

Remember as you go "comfort him" and "reaffirm your love for him or her."

I love you girls and wish you the peace of the Lord in this week!

Court, your post is humbling.

God is so amazing how He works and how He places things in front of us that He wants us to learn. I have to admit I am behind in the lesson again. But, I got an e-mail from my mom this morning that touched my heart, and I wanted to share it with you all.

Have you ever been imprisoned?
Don't forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies. -- Hebrews 13:3 NLT

Tell me how much you know of the suffering of your fellow men, and I will tell you how much you have loved them. -- Helmut Thielicke

Solidarity in Suffering
At any given time, many of God's saints are in prison. The prison may be literal, or it may be a product of circumstances. It can be financial debt, a broken relationship, a physical ailment, or any other consuming situation.

A huge problem in the church is when Christians look at their imprisoned brothers and sisters and assume that God has not favored them. Paul probably experienced such a phenomenon. We read his prison epistles and marvel at his suffering for the cause. But many of his contemporaries may not have marveled. They may have seen his trouble as a sign of God's disfavor and wondered why someone with so much potential had fallen to such depths.

God's prisons are full of His loved ones. He uses those experiences mightily, as He did with Paul, Joseph, John the Baptist, John the disciple, and numerous other biblical examples. In fact, many of those whom He used in powerful ways have experienced an imprisonment, captivity, or loneliness ordained directly by Him.

Are you in prison? You are probably not literally behind bars, but your circumstances may make you feel as if you are. Don't despair; it will not last. It is ordained by God and is designed either for your current witness or future usefulness. He is refining you and molding you into His image, the exact likeness of His crucified Son.

Holding out on forgiving those who have wronged is a kind of prison, doncha think? I feel like I'm in a few different prisons right now! Eesh. But, I'll try not to despair because it will not last because IT IS ORDAINED BY GOD! We don't always know why situations happen to us, and that's something I've held on to with Zach (my son) -- that the circumstances were designed either for my current witness or future usefulness.

I sort of feel like I'm going off on different tangents, but it all points back to the same thing, I guess...
He is refining you and molding you into His image, the exact likeness of His crucified Son.

Love you girls!