Others don’t mean to hurt you, or maybe they do
Forgive them anyway
They are inconsiderate, unkind, careless with their words,
forgive them anyway
They leave you out of things, don’t pick up the phone,
have no thought for what you are going through,
forgive them anyway
They don’t add to your life, but cause you grief instead,
forgive them anyway
I once had a friend who did a not nice thing to me
I talked to the Lord about what she had done
He did not excuse her
Instead, He said, Love her anyway
Gulp
Forgiveness and love don’t come easily sometimes
They are a work of His spirit within us
They cannot be attained by the flesh alone
Some people can nobly forgive in their flesh,
still, no matter what they say,
it is not that pure fountain of God’s love and forgiveness
without the cleansing of and submission to the Lord
Sometimes we have people who constantly vex us
Not sure exactly what Paul was talking about
when he said he had a thorn in the flesh,
and the Lord, instead of taking it away said,
My strength is made perfect in weakness
I suspect it was a sin, but isn’t unforgiveness a sin?
Yes, Lord, though tapping into that strength is not always easy,
submitting ourselves to the pain or ridicule
of people whom we would prefer never have to see or hear from again
Constant dripping of the faucet
Always ruining our peace
We were fine until they said or did something that bugged us
Why can’t they just keep their trap shut?
Love them anyway You say?
Count others better than yourself?
Impossible!
Doing things God’s way, in our own strength, is impossible
But with God, all things are possible
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that in due time, He may exalt you
He will deal with those people as He sees fit,
we need to submit to Him and trust Him and remain humble before Him
That’s His business, the way He chooses to deal with them or the situation
Our job is to love and forgive while tapping into His strength
The flesh and the spirit are constantly warring against one another
Rightly so, because there are many stupid people here on earth
Just imagine, a world without stupid people
The problem is, we are sometimes one of those stupid people
If we turn our focus on ourselves and realize our own inadequacies
and what the Lord has forgiven us for,
we will understand a little better
We will gain more compassion and forgiveness and love
There have been plenty of times each of us have acted or been unlovely,
hurt others, been less than
God forgives us
In the same way, we must also be gracious to others and forgive them
None of us is perfect
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God Romans 3:23
As He exposes our shame, and His grace toward us,
we also can in turn try to be the person He has created us to be
To be loving and forgiving toward those who vex us
and toward those who do not respect us or who are not kind
We are all works in progress and will never attain perfection
until we are transformed at death or at His appearing
At that point, we won’t have to deal with all these thorns in the flesh
Until then, let us love one another and remember that we are less than
without His redemptive power
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:15
Scriptural References:
And lest I should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,
the messenger of Satan to buffet me,
lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:
for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them,
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time 1 Peter 5:6
To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence;
their foot shall slide in due time:
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
Deuteronomy 32:35
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh:
and these are contrary the one to the other:
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Galatians 5:17
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things,
but condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath:
for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink:
for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:14-21