Forgiving

Forgiving. I have always had a hard time with this. Yep, I'm good at holding my cool and my tongue up until a certain point. And then, I pretty much crack. I can only take so much before I lose it. I'm not totally sure if I ever had marbles to lose. I pray and have been praying for patience, peace in my heart, and wisdom for things that have been happening my whole life, and things that have happened in the past, and present. I wasn't feeling better about anything though. THEN, (and this is my ah-ha moment) I read something. Well, somethings. And I realize, I had it ALL WRONG... Again. There are certain situations and things going on in my life that I don't blab all over the place about. These verses have helped me realize that even IF these people and situations stay the way they are, IF no apologies are ever made, IF no wrongs are ever righted, I WILL be ok.
(Romans 12:14) Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse.
(1 Peter 3:8-9) Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
(Luke 11:4) Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
(Matthew 6:14-15) For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 18:21-22) Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” Jesus said to him, "“I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven." (By the way, that is 490 times. And we're supposed to always forgive. Over 490 times; over 1,000; over 1,000,000 times.)
And the last one I read, but certainly not the least:
Luke 6:27-37) “But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again.“As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful. Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free."
It wasn't that I was holding a grudge, I wasn't bad-talking, disrespecting, ignoring, or treating others badly. I just wasn't forgiving the people who have and had done these things, and other things to me. The Lord really opened up to me that in order to be set free from those past and present situations, people, feelings, and to be able to focus solely on Him, I had to forgive others first. So, it took awhile, because of my stubborness, but I have forgiven, and in turn, been forgiven again. And again and again. Because I have an amazing Lord, who is always ready to forgive, and forget. We just have to follow His example and do the same.