There is nothing like conviction. And there is no denying when you feel it. I have been doing a Beth Moore Bible study called Stepping Up. Its focused on the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120-134. Its DVD driven and if you've ever heard Beth Moore whether in person or recorded, I trust you know how amazing she can be.
I'm sitting there watching week three, filling in my blanks in my workbook, enjoying learning about the Pilgrim Feasts. She was speaking about the Feasts of Weeks. This was a time for the Israelites to remember their former bondage. It is important for all of us to remember our bondage ( for us it is the grips of sin) because when we remember we are more generous with our grace. And the Feasts of Weeks represented a time of generosity with both grace and giving.
So I'm sitting there thinking- yeah- you preach it girl! And then WHAM! It was as if Beth Moore stepped out of that screen, walked over, and grabbed me by the shoulders. If it hadn't been for the thirty plus other ladies in the room, I could have sworn she was speaking just to me. No Beth wasn't speaking directly to me but God was using her words to speak to me.
My one word, my focus for 2008 is forgiveness. I've written a few updates in other posts on how I'm coming along. I'm finding forgiveness is much easier said than done.
What convicted me? And I'm paraphrasing because I didn't copy it word for word when she said it. She said that God will pour out judgment on us as we pour it out on others. So Beth said she wanted to make sure to pour out a lot of grace on others since she'd be needing quite a bit of that herself. :)
"forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us."
This next question is where I know some of the wonderful Godly ladies in my life will step in to comment. At least I hope they do. I did not grow up in the church, at least not on a consistent basis. I still have so much to learn in my walk with the Lord. He has given me some amazing women to learn from and I am thankful for that. So here's my question and listen I've really struggled with this. I even posted about why Beth Moore said we HAD to forgive especially those who don't care to be forgiven. Help me understand not the why but the how. My question is, "How do you go about forgiving someone who hasn't shown the least bit of remorse or repentance?" And does God expect you to have a relationship with that person? I'm not trying to be dense when I ask these questions. I used to think my struggle was with forgiveness but I don't have a problem forgiving anything when someone is remorseful. Maybe it just all comes down to completely turning that situation over to God. Is it any coincidence that I struggle with this too! :)
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6 comments:
That's a really good question. I wish Beth would answer it on here herself, b/c I have heard it do it before beautifully. Basically her answer was the we forgive on a daily basis. It's a conscious choice to wake up and say, "I forgive ____ today" and then to live like it. She was abused as a child and never had any of those people come to her and ask her for forgiveness, but she still chose to forgive. She said it really takes time to break those chains they hold around you. It's so true, unforgiveness only holds US captive, never the person we don't wish to forgive. Often, they don't even know we harbor bitterness towards them. God wants us to be free from unforgiveness so that we might live victoriously.
I like Ashleys answer. I'll go with that! :)
Wow Ashley. Thank you- I really like the part about how we choose to forgive on a daily basis- I've never looked at it like that before.
Bet Moore always has indepth awesome studies. Right now I am doing a less intensive one by Max Lucado. I am enjoying it.
Hey Susan, what a great question. I don't think that forgiveness always means that the relationship must be restored (although I've been amazed at how God has managed to do that in some suprising ways). Sometimes the relationship really is one of those "things that hinders" that we need to "throw off" (Hebrews 12:1). I think Ashley is right, it's a conscious decision we have to make over and over again. It's an act of the will. My dad taught me that "unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die". I think that is so true. God tells us to forgive for OUR sake. I've found that if I have a hard time forgiving someone, yet I make the decision to do it (in my mind at least if not in my heart) that God's grace is sufficient to complete that work in me.
Thanks Tracy- I love the part about making the decision to do it in your mind and then allowing God's grace to complete that. My problem is not in my head- its my heart. Thanks for sharing that!
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