art of forgiveness.
Focus Scriptures:
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:35 NIV
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 NIV
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 NIV
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24 NIV
~The heart speaks what the mouth is full of. What’s your heart condition? Analyze your behavior when you’re offended or wronged, or look for patterns in your reactions.~
I want to tell a short story, and I hope it’s the medicine your heart needs.
I usually go on bike trails in the mornings, and one morning, before heading out, I had a disagreement with my former partner. I said things that definitely came from a place of hurt and frustration. So I in a whim decided to just go biking because it’s usually how I cleared my mind. My plan was to bike around 7 miles to a bench where I used to sit and pray with the Lord back in 2020 - I was in desperate search for an encounter with Jesus. A hurricane had recently just blown over the day before, but I needed to get out and decided to test my “luck” - though I don’t believe in luck just grace :). However, when I went out, the trail was covered in debris and fallen trees from the hurricane, and there were moments as I was biking that I wanted to give up. But I kept pushing forward. Eventually, I reached a point where another fallen tree blocked my path. And it wasn’t just a small tree, no it was like a 20-foot tall oak that had fallen. I was about to turn around, but I stopped myself and said, “No, Crystal, it’s okay keep going for Jesus.” But as I proceeded through the trail there was just too much debris, so I turned around.
The truth is, I couldn’t even enjoy the bike ride because of what had transpired with my former partner. In my mind, or perhaps it was the Holy Spirit, I kept being reminded of this verse:
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24 NIV
I couldn’t enjoy the bike ride or fellowship with the Holy Spirit because of this unresolved issue. I saw the fallen debris as a depiction of my internal state. I couldn’t reach Jesus or my destination because there were too many “things” in the way—these things being the resentment I was holding onto.
On my way back, since I couldn’t reach the bench, I decided to stop at a lake that I also frequent to pray. I’ve never done this before, but there were rocks and stones on the ground, so I picked one up as I made my way around the paved path near the lake. I sat on a bench and offered a quick, simple prayer. I didn’t make it elaborate; I simply said, “Jesus…I know You hear me. I thought I forgave this person, but I guess I didn’t. I really suck at this Christianity thing. Can You please teach me how to forgive?” I left it at that and got back on my bike. I was going to leave the stone on the bench, but as I biked around the lake, I decided to toss it into the water. In the process, I accidentally hurt my right wrist and almost fell off my bike! (LOL.)
Fast forward to that night, I usually pray with my family. After we prayed, we say a prayer for God’s grace. For some reason, after we said it, my sister prompted us to say it again. I asked, “We just said it, though?” And her response was, “That’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with more of God’s grace.”
Now it’s the next morning, and my alarm went off. Sometimes, I’ll set it randomly for 3 a.m. to pray. This time, I decided to do a Bible plan I’ve been working through this week about slaying the “giants” in your life. And Lo and behold…the title of the devotional for that day: The Bitterness Giant.
The verse of the day was:
“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:15 NIV
And when I read that, I just couldn’t believe how God came through for me with the sequence of events after my simple prayer at the lake. This is part of the devotional I read:
“David had a smooth river stone to sling at the giant Goliath to defeat him. Likewise, for a follower of Jesus, we have a stone to defeat our bitterness giant. That stone is God’s GRACE. There is only one antidote for the root of bitterness. It is God’s GRACE to us, applied to our offender, as this GRACE has been given to us.”
The rock and stone, picking it up, and deciding to toss it into the lake—even injuring myself in the process (because sometimes following the Spirit might hurt the flesh)—and my sister’s comment about there being nothing wrong with more of God’s grace...Wow. I hear You, Lord. A simple concept I thought I understood—forgiveness and grace. Yet, I kept falling short. PRAISE JESUS!!! 🙌🏾🤎
When Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive, I'm sure he thought he was being "next level holy" by suggesting "seven times." But GOD. Jesus challenged the very laws and principles that shaped society at the time—He challenged our fleshly nature—and replied, "seventy times seven!!!" Meaning, unlimited forgiveness.
There’s a reason why the Lord’s Prayer says, "Forgive us our daily trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." We are to show the same grace of forgiveness to others that God has given to us. May we live every day of our lives with the understanding of forgiveness, dying to ourselves and our desires. And may we surrender every hurt, resentment, and bit of bitterness caused by others at the foot of Jesus.
Amen.
