Sunday, February 8, 2009

Revenge vs Forgiveness

Leviticus 19:18 "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. "

Before I gave my life to Christ, I secretly held a list of people who hurt me. I had no intentions on seeking revenge; I'm just not that kind of person. But best believe, I kept mental notes and even updated them occasionally. I was quick to forgive, but forgetting was no way possible in my mind. I could go back to the first time that I felt hurt, which was when I was about 16 or 17 up until my marriage ended.

As my life began to unfold and I started peeling back the layers to get to the "root", I had a huge awakening. It all revolved around the feeling of abandonment that I carried from not knowing my birth father. The icing on the cake was the ending of my marriage; the dream that he would rescue me and make all things in the past better. How not true was that?

The Lord is the only one that can make "it" all better and he is asking us to forgive so that we can receive all the "blessings" he has in store for us. I don't know about you, but since I've forgiven all "those" people, my blessings have continuously flowed and are continuously flowing beyond anything I could have imagined. What he has in store for you is waiting for you, once you make peace with your past. The smile I wear is not one of someone who is seeking revenge, but is worn by someone who has chosen to forgive.

11 comments:

Standing Able said...

I give an honor to God for your transformation...I remember the butterfly before and I am in awe of her now.

Philippians 3:13 says: Brethen, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

My sister you are now living the title of your blog "A FREE SPIRIT BUTTERFLY"! Continue to let God mold and shape you into the woman of God, He has called you to be...BIG UPS TO YOU!

Forgiving and forgetting are two very important keys to living HOLY! Stay on the path and watch God do things that will blow your mind...hold on tight!

Love Ya,
Stacye

February 8, 2009 7:29 AM

A Free Spirit Butterfly said...

Good morning Stacye and "HAPPY Sunday."

Love you back. You know that you were truly 1 of my sources of inspiration and God lead me to you to set the foundation before transfering back to 1D.

Have a spectacular day, it's supposed to be a Sunny one (smile)

Toia said...

Sometimes I wonder why is it hard to forgive others who wrong you. But on the other hand we forget about how much God has forgiven us on more than one ocassion. He never holds a grudge or throw in our faces all the wrongs we done in the past.

My prayer is that God will give me the strength to forgive instantly and not keep that mental notes of all those offended me, or hold grudges for a day, week, or long. I just want to be able to relax and release so that I won't hinder my blessings from God anymore.

Thank you so much for this post. It has been a blessing to me.

Myriam said...

Like you- I am not one to seek revenge but secretly I would wait for the day when something would happen and I would think 'pay back'- God's got you now.

I used to hold grudges against many people because I felt I was a victim and I can attest that it was so easy for me to forgive people after I became a christian and it was so freeing to so. I couldn't think of why not to- after all - I had a laundry list for which God had written off and suddenly what others have done failed in comparison.

But forgetting has and continue to be a choice that I have to make.

PS. I am so glad that Jesus hears and I was doing 'my dance' for your sis.

Love you much.

Myriam

SLC said...

Your label says it all.
Our closing prayer today revolved around letting go of the past so we could see what a glorious future God has in store.

Thanks again for being a blessing.
SLC

Tea with Tiffany said...

Forgiveness is one of life's greatest gifts! I've opened it myself and found sure freedom.

Strongblkwmn said...

I am learning this. Something happened that really hurt and angered me. I've always been one to hold grudges and that was something I have been working on. When this situation happened, I did my best not to revert back. I took a step back, gathered myself, prayed on it, and realized that it wasn't worth getting upset over.

Juri said...

I struggle with forgiveness. As you said, it is easy to forgive, but so difficult to forget...yet, if I cannot forget, have I really forgiven? Thank God that He is so forgiving and definitely does not hold a grudge!

I just love you blog, you give me much to think about....by the way, I am a dog person, too...I have two yellow labs, a mother and daughter team!

Jur

PAK ART said...

Well said. To Juri - I don't think forgiveness has to go hand-in-hand with forgetting. Sometimes God allows us the consequences of our sin as a reminder just as sometimes hurt from others helps us to learn and not repeat mistakes. You can still forgive freely, but remembering can help you not get in that hurtful position again. Of course I don't know your specifics, but I can think of some in my own life that I will remember even though I've chosen to forgive.

Shaz said...

Your posts are always food for thought for me..This is something that you're not always thinking about but never forget to do.

I to have a hard time with forgiveness. I'm working on it though..

Ria said...

WOW---impressive. My current struggle is forgetting. I can forgive (secretly in my heart)but I can never tell someone I forgive them because I won't forget!

My g-ma taught me that they go hand-in-hand. I haven't mastered being able to do both.