Hello, friends!
We made it to Week 6 of our study! Yay! Let’s pause and do a happy dance. (Or, if you’re like me, do a series of fun awkward moves that make others ask “Is that even a dance?”)
Seriously, though, acknowledging your hurt, allowing God to tend to your deepest wounds, and deciding to forgive is hard work. No matter where you are in the process, you’re still on the forgiveness path. That counts. I’m so proud of you! So let’s continue to do the hard work this last week. Deal?
You know what one of my big aha moments from God has been so far? It’s the truth in Lysa’s words on page 201 of Forgiving What You Can’t Forget:
"Living in the comfort of peace is so much better than living in the constraints of unforgiveness.”
What Lysa says about unforgiveness is so true. It doesn’t teach the other person a lesson or protect us, but it does keep us in pain, constrict our thoughts, pinch our possibilities, rob us of rest, and block our healing. Think about that. Has withholding forgiveness toward someone really brought you peace, joy, and rest? For me, it hasn’t. I desperately want peace and freedom. Do you?
Though it may be hard to see at first, Lysa’s right: forgiveness is a choice. When we’re ready, and with God’s help, we can choose it.
How do we do this, though? In today’s video, Lysa and Kendra share a few ideas. Lysa even gives us one word we can live out to help us through the process. Grab a pen so you can jot it down. I bet, like me, you’ll want to write it on a sticky note where you can see it every day.
Here are the instructions for access to closed captioning and transcripts.
Isn’t that word so powerful? Did you catch the end, too, where she admits what she does that makes managing her responses and emotions hard? Oh. My. Goodness! I do the same thing. What about y’all? That’s why I’m so excited to try out the tips she shares with us.
Our Verse of the Week reminds us why choosing forgiveness is important:
“And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, NIV).
God wants us to forgive others to show His love and to free ourselves. Please don’t worry, though, if you’ve been doing the work but aren’t ready to make the choice yet. God loves you, and He’s right there with you. Stay on the path, and He’ll get you there!
Brandy
Heart to Heart:
What’s one tip, insight, or truth mentioned during this study that’s helped you the most on your forgiveness journey?
P.S. Here’s our Study at a Glance if you want to see what’s happening the rest of the week!
STUDY AT A GLANCE