Our Father in heaven wants very much to be an active Father in our lives.

However, He will not control us as though we are puppets.
We hope that the meditations will encourage you to deepen your bonds with Him in this most vital relationship of our lives.

14 - God Forgives
Matthew 6
14. Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you.
LB

This verse is a really tough one to swallow.

We all need the forgiveness of God to be active in our lives. His forgiveness in our lives brings many blessings to us which we need in order to live, like:

    tender mercy

    loving kindness

    goodness

    favour

    good success

Therefore, to succeed in forgiving others would be a real plus for us.

But what exactly does it mean to forgive?

First of all, forgiveness is a decision not an emotion.
Even if that means you have to wake up each day and forgive, it's still a decision and not an emotion.

So what to do with the emotions when they want to overpower me?

Commit the situation and the emotions to the Lord and ask Him to consider only your decision to forgive and to help you not to act out your emotions.

Ask the Lord to help you find a healthy way to release the emotions you may still be carrying around.

Forgiveness does not mean to welcome back into your life anyone who has been abusive towards you.

Prayer:
Father, today I make the decision to forgive (call the person's name to the Lord).
Give me the wisdom to handle the emotions that well up in me when I think about this person.
I need Your loving kindness, tender mercy, goodness, favour and good success to be active in my life today and always,
in Jesus' name,
Amen.

See you tomorrow, God willing,
when you'll find a new thought here to challenge you!
Meanwhile, have a great day walking with the Lord!