Resolution Revolution: My Forgiveness

I really enjoyed reading, studying and discussing our most recent topic of forgiveness from this book.  I have to admit, as I did in our group discussion, that at first I avoided this chapter for a few days. Then when we decided to take a break from the book club over the Holidays, I was actually glad to have more time to avoid it.  You see, while I understand how vital and important forgiveness is in the life of every Christian, the thought of actually being confronted with the possibility that I still harbored some unforgiveness towards someone, or even myself, was a bit scary.  But I'm so glad this book was inspired by God to expose every part of me that needs to be exposed....and it did.

In our discussion, we talked about some of the ways unforgiveness shows up in our lives.  Sometimes we think we have forgiven a person, but we must really search our actions to determine if this is actually true.  Priscilla writes how unforgiveness is like internal trauma that goes undetected and ultimately leads to death.  One of the ladies shared a statement by another popular female minister that said harboring unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. How crazy is that!?  So we discussed some ways to recognize unforgiveness and some ways to prevent unforgiveness from becoming a root of bitterness in our lives.  Some practical ways we named were honest communication, confrontation, and trying our best to see others in light of our own flaws and not just theirs.  When someone hurts us, we owe it to them and ourselves to be honest about it and expose our offense or hurt feelings, to deal with the issue quickly rather than hold on to it and allow it to fester and to remember how God has forgiven our sins and mistakes before we pronounce judgement on them.

One of the most important principles of this chapter is that forgiveness is a choice.  It is not a feeling or thought. It is the choice to share the gift that we have been so freely given - the unmerited, undeserved gift of forgiveness. 

I absolutely loved Priscilla's answer to the young lady when asked the question: "How can I forgive myself?"  I was personally stunned by the answer.  Have you wondered how you could ever forgive yourself for that horrible mistake you made?  The answer, as Priscilla so beautifully penned, is that "the capacity to forgive yourself is personally impossible."  Wow. Maybe you are not as blown away by that as I am.  But maybe that's because you may not have made some of the huge mistakes I have. But my-oh-my how I exhaled after reading that sentence.  Did you get that? If you've been trying to forgive yourself and shed the tiresome, burdensome load of guilt and shame for years, you can stop it!  You can't forgive yourself because you are incapable.  Only Jesus, and your acceptance of HIS gift of forgiveness and all that comes with it - erasing your sins from his memory (Jeremiah 31:34), making you righteous before God (Romans 3:23), and cancelling the eternal debt for your sins - can offer you the forgiveness that lifts the heavy load of guilt from your life.  Remember Jesus urged us to take HIS yoke because it is easy and HIS burden because it is light!  (Matthew 11:30)

And so we wrapped up our discussion with Priscilla's practical ways to approach forgiveness.  She encourages us to choose not to hold grudges, choose to allow God to deal with those who offend you and choose to pray and ask God to empower you to forgive those who have offended you.  Did you get that common word: you can forgive him or her if you CHOOSE! And always, ALWAYS, remember that we forgive others, as we have been forgiven.

I can't say this enough, if you don't have this book, it is a must read!  It will change your life!

Until next time!