A few years ago I was going through a great personal battle. One of my daughters was suffering a grave injustice and I was trying to help her through the trauma, but my prayers seemed to be getting nowhere.
One day I was agonizing and playing the “tapes of injustice”( or should I say, “mp3’s”) in my mind. Do you know what I mean? There seem to be tapes that play over and over, reliving the horrendous things which have been done to us. On that particular day, while I was in my misery, the Lord spoke to me and said two words. “Matthew 18.” I was startled! Could He be talking to me? I knew what was there! I had taught it many times; it was about forgiveness.
I didn’t want to talk about forgiveness. This was real life. This was my life! There had been grave injustice done here. Yet if I was going to follow His voice, I had to do what He said. Obediently, but almost reluctantly, I turned to the chapter and began to read.
Matthew 18:21-35 has a very interesting story. In this chapter Jesus talks abut a slave who owed his master a huge sum of money, and his master forgave him the debt. But then this slave went out and showed no mercy toward a slave who owed him just a little. It’s obvious that Jesus is comparing this master and slave to Himself and us. He has forgiven us so much. We had no ability to pay for our sinful nature and all the mistakes we have made. Yet our Lord willingly forgave us. Then when we go out and hold others’ sins against them, we are acting as the wicked slave, and we cut off God’s mercy from our lives.
I had taught that passage so many times over the years: forgive always and never hold onto anger. Yet there I was, harboring resentment. When you are in the middle of a crisis, it’s so easy to slip. You may have knowledge of what to do, but in the middle of the battle the atmosphere can get very cloudy. You can’t see as well.
That day I got very still and began to praise my God. I read from Psalms and prayed. As the clouds lifted, I forgave. There were many tears, but I forgave anyway. Then sitting in the stillness, alone with my God, that wonderful fresh oil from heaven poured upon me. Sweet peace. I knew that my Father was at work on my behalf.
Whatever you are going through, forgiveness is not an option. It is a requirement. Perhaps unfair treatment, false accusations, or outright viciousness are swirling around. You may have to deal with perpetrators in an open and direct way. Yet you still have to forgive them, knowing that your Father will take care of you. He is the judge, not you. He will work on your behalf only when you operate according to His rules. Bitterness and anger have to be relinquished if you expect your Father to work on your behalf.
So you have been hurt. Sure you have. You can’t live this life without being hurt by someone. So what do we do about it? We forgive those who have mistreated us. That’s the only way we can expect God’s best in our lives.
Today make a list of people who have hurt or mistreated you. Hold that list up toward heaven and tell your Father that you forgive them. Ask Him to help you truly forgive. You might need to go through the list one by one and ask for His help. Sometimnes this can be hard, but it’s worth it.
Then praise God for helping you to forgive. You’re getting stronger everyday!
