Ephesians 4:30-32 (NKJV)
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
The American Psychological Association (APA) defines forgiveness as:
“willfully putting aside feelings of resentment toward someone who has committed a wrong, been unfair or hurtful, or otherwise harmed you in some way. Forgiveness is not merely accepting what happened or ceasing to be angry. Rather, it involves a voluntary transformation of your feelings, attitudes, and behaviors, so that you are no longer dominated by resentment and can express compassion, generosity, or the like toward the person who wronged you.”
While I typically don’t align my viewpoint with the APA, the APA did an excellent job describing forgiveness.
The main addition I would bring to this definition is that the process of forgiveness ultimately requires God.
I need God when I forgive.
I need to rely on God when I forgive myself or others.
In all honesty & transparency, forgiveness is a process that I am still working on.
I still am going through the process of forgiveness for many family members, loved ones, and my current spouse.
I Don’t Know How To Speed This Up.
I honestly wish
I could speed up time.
Make the process less painful.
Make the words ” I forgive you” speak magic.
I wish I could unhear the words that linger in my mind.
For the thousand words that my ears don’t hear & my brain chooses not to remember, why does my heart hold on so tight . . . to those words.
Yet, this is the reality. At least, this is MY reality. A reality where my heart constantly needs to be renewed. I NEED TO BE MADE NEW.
And, Thankfully I Know That “Making All Things New” Is The Kind of Work That Only GOD Does.
Leave a Reply