pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: pain


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Offer Forgiveness, Find Freedom

Forgiveness can be a hard thing to offer.  We are not talking about the garden variety ‘sorry’ when we bump into someone in the hall but the kind that take some effort because the hurt was deep and it lingers still.

Peter asks Jesus if forgiving someone seven times is enough.  I think Peter thought it was more than forgiving someone a few times, so he thought was doing well.  But Jesus says ‘no Peter, forgive seventy-seven times’. (Or seventy times seven in some translations!)  Jesus is really telling Peter to just keep forgiving – forever.  That’s hard.  But a lot of Jesus’ truths are hard.  It takes effort and commitment to follow Jesus and to seek to live as He lived.

So often when we choose not to forgive – and make no mistake, it is a choice – the one we are hurting most is ourself.  Frequently the offender has moved on or does not even know the hurt they caused was so deep, yet we can fixate and dwell on the event and the hurt caused.  We can even allow it to consume us.  This is not healthy nor is it following Jesus’ directive.

By choosing to forgive, we first acknowledge in our heart the need for healing and restoration.  As we offer it to the other, our healing is made complete.  We are set free for that which bound us and we return to living as a whole, healthy child of God.

Scripture reference: Matthew 18: 21-22


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Near to God

In times of trial or distress, it is common to ask God “Why?” or to wonder where God is in the midst of it all that is happening.  In general we hold to the belief that God is supposed to fix things or at least make them better.  And when He doesn’t, we begin to question and wonder.

During these “dark nights of the soul” it can be so difficult to find God.  It’s not that God is absent from us, it is just that we are having a hard time connecting to or feeling God is near.  It is truly like we are wandering around in the dark.

And at just the right moment, after all has been stripped away and we are desperate, God is right there.  He comes alongside, arms around us, and He walks us through.  When we get to the point of crying out to God, we find He is right there.  Then the gloom begins to lift and we begin to see the light ahead.  James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  This is an important verse to remember when we are in the midst of struggle and we feel alone.  May we keep it ever in our hearts.