Letting Go

It seems like cruel irony to me, that when we've been victimized in some way, God still requires we maintain a pure heart. That means that in spite of the pain, anger, injustice, etc we still have the responsibility of dealing with our emotions properly. God is always near when we are wounded. He mends broken hearts, He does not cause them. I love that He "hears our cries" (Ps 69:13), "collects our tears in a bottle" (Ps 56:8), and welcomes us to "pour out our hearts" to Him (Ps 62:8). That divine comfort and strength is very helpful because the next step is, we have to release those who hurt us. My fleshly struggle with this is that it seems like forgiving would be saying what happened is okay, and as a lover of justice, that's hard for me to resolve in my mind. Reading what the bible has to say helps me.....

"Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. " Luke 6:37

Okay, God, when You put it that way.... I'd rather forgive than fall under judgement myself. If we want to enjoy God's forgiveness, we have to give it to others as well. Surrendering to God's judgement means that you are allowing Him to be the judge, while you stay safely under His grace. The offender goes from being on your hook, to being on God's hook. And since God is All-Seeing and All-Knowing, I think He'd do a better job dishing out the consequences. Yes?

My mom (the new mom God blessed me with) taught me a simple prayer when forgiving someone.... "(Person's name), I forgive you, I release you, I won't harbor this against you, I take the loss and I give it to Jesus". Every time unforgiveness would try to take hold (which can lead to bitterness, which really separates us from God), I'd pray this prayer. Five times a day, ten times a day, twenty times in one hour....as often as needed!

God did not design our hearts or bodies to carry the heavy stress of anger, rage, unforgiveness, or bitterness. Have you ever noticed how an angry, unforgiving person's appearance can change? How quickly someone ages? Do we forget that Jesus tells in Matthew 11:30, "My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”? Sometimes we end up carrying things that Jesus already secured for us on the cross. Let it go! I found these words in my journal, I don't remember if it was an excerpt from a book or my own writing.....

"Women who are stunningly beautiful have had their hearts enlarged by suffering, by paying the high price of loving truly and honestly without demanding that they be loved in return. The experiences of sorrow enhances the joy of living."

We become more beautiful by tending to our hearts with great care.