Forgive and Forget

[TheSilentHero]

We all have our troubles and demons that haunt us. I've been through some real pain too. But I'm working towards forgiving and forgetting. Unfortunately, God probably won't have to seek vengeance on the man that hurt me because he is so stubborn and so lost that I don't think he'll ever come to the Lord. So, he will probably suffer in Hell. And actually, I'm sorry for him. I have compassion for him and love for him that is not a love of this world. Yes, God will seek vengeance, but don't forget that God is also merciful. And I hope and pray that instead of God seeking vengeance, he will seek this man out and reach out to him until this man's death or the coming of Christ. After all, all sin is equally horrible in God's eyes, and yet he forgives us. And we, even as believers, sin against him every day. So surely we can forgive others. When I sought out vengeance from the Lord to those who had ruined the first seven years of my life, I found nothing but more pain and more sorrow. And I was haunted by demons who lusted for my fear and tormented me in my sleep. And I suffered from dark memories instilled in me by a man who is worthy of being the anti-christ. So, as a human, I have the right to hate him. I have a right to wish vengeance on him. But because God is loving and merciful, and because God showed me merci, I find that I am able to love this man with God's love. Love your enemies. And, I've gone through much pain, but instead of speaking of it, I am forgetting it. Since God forgives and forgets all of my sins, and everyone else's, then I shall also forgive and forget. If you are persecuted because you love God, then it is righteous to expect his vengeance. Those scriptures in Revelation speak of slightly different things. For one they are prophecies, not really intended to justify a lust for vengeance, and two they are metophorically describing events that happen during the tribulation period, if I'm not mistaken. And remember this, Jesus was beaten, denied, blasphemed, spit on, hated, rejected and his own deciple denied him, and another betrayed him, and I don't recall reading that any of them were there when he was actually crucified. But even so, Jesus being as merciful and as wonderful as he is, said these wonderful words of love "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Jesus died for everyone. Including the ones that persecuted and crucified him. He loved everyone then and still loves everyone now. So yes, I'm thinking God does expect the half dead man to show merci and give his all for his friends even if he gets nothing in return. God will bless you. But you must give your all selflessly and not expect anything in return. I beg you to let God's love flow through you and realize just how wonderful it is to be alive. When I turned all my anger, and pain, and sorrow over to him, I felt such a relief. And one more thing, here is another example of giving your all

The Widow said to Elijah, “As the Lord your God lives,I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
“Don’t be afraid, go home and bake a small cake of bread for me first. Then bake some bread for your son and for yourself” Elijah said. Elijah could speak with boldness to the widow because the Lord said, “The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

One of the many wonderful things about God, is that because you are a believer, you will never thirst and never hunger. And what you give in the name of the Lord, whether it be money, friendship, love, or whatever it may be, he will bless you two-fold. You reap what you sow. Sow joy and compassion, and merci, and forgiveness, and God will bless you with more than you can handle of blessings. Just have faith.

 

[TheSilentHero]

By the way everyone, pray for the man that hurt me that I just spoke of. Maybe if enough people pray, he will finally come to the Lord. Though he caused me great pain, I would gladly take his place if it meant he could be in heaven and in peace. That is what Jesus did for us. And because I am letting God's love flow through me, I'm finding out just how wonderful it is to be in love with God. And I pray that all of you are well and prosperous and find the same love in God as I have found. ^.^

 

[Boanerges]

Luk 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

I pray daily for all those who come against me to come to His salvation. This is the Master's heart and so it must be mine. I do not rejoice when my enemies fall but I can and must have this heart: Father I choose to forgive my enemies. I pray the blessing of salvation over them and ask You do not judge them for my sake. Have mercy on them Lord just as You have mercy on me.In Jesus Name I pray, believeing that You hear and will answer, amen.


This I must do for whoever and whenever someone comes against me for Christ's Namesake for my God is a jealous God and very protective of me.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

SilentHero, If by "forget", you mean that we should try to erase the harmful occurences from our memories, I have two problems with that idea:

1) We have no hope of totally erasing past events from our memories. They may move from the conscious level to the subconscious level, but they never leave us because:

2) God wants them to serve as red flags of warning for us and others so that similar hurtful events can be avoided in the future. In other words, He wants to turn your memories into a ministry that blesses people.

SLE

 

[TheSilentHero]

Hey that makes sense. I guess, I'm still learning. Maybe it means that we aren't suppose to hold it against them. Like forgive them and then don't throw it back in their face. Do you think maybe that's more of what God intended? Cause Jesus does say that God forgives and forgets, maybe that would mean that God doesn't throw it back in our faces. I know Satan is the worst at that.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Maybe it means that we aren't suppose to hold it against them. Like forgive them and then don't throw it back in their face. Do you think maybe that's more of what God intended?

I think you're right on the mark, Silent Hero. Matthew 6:14 tells us that if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. So, you might say that we are called by God to live in His continuous cycle of giving and receiving forgiveness.

When I first came to Christ, I thought that my anger was a weapon I could aim at others. But, I learned that 90% of the time when I was angry at someone, that someone didn't know I was angry - they weren't even thinking about me. My emotional energy was being wasted.

You see, every once in a gazillion times your anger might impact the other person. But, most of the time, the only one who feels the heat is you. The stress relief that came to me when I got control of my anger was amazing. Its not just a matter of letting the other person off the hook; your forgiveness benefits you more than them.

SLE

 

[TheSilentHero]

I think you're right on the mark, Silent Hero. Matthew 6:14 tells us that if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. So, you might say that we are called by God to live in His continuous cycle of giving and receiving forgiveness.

When I first came to Christ, I thought that my anger was a weapon I could aim at others. But, I learned that 90% of the time when I was angry at someone, that someone didn't know I was angry - they weren't even thinking about me. My emotional energy was being wasted.

You see, every once in a gazillion times your anger might impact the other person. But, most of the time, the only one who feels the heat is you. The stress relief that came to me when I got control of my anger was amazing. Its not just a matter of letting the other person off the hook; your forgiveness benefits you more than them.

SLE

HEY! You're right. So really... God is not only trying to teach us to be merciful, but all spare us the emotional distress right? Yeah I see what you are saying. My mom has said that before too. She's like "the only person you are hurting is yourself." That's AWESOME! I love learning new things. Thank you very much.