"If I were your enemy, I'd use every opportunity to bring old wounds to mind, as well as the people, events and circumstances that caused them. I'd try to ensure that your heart was hardened with anger and bitterness..." In this chapter Priscilla shares an important story. It's a tale of misunderstanding, growing anger, all eventually ending in deeply-rooted bitterness and hurt. I've lived through it, that revolving doorway of hurt. Just like the revolving doors at the airport we have opportunities to simply walk out, but instead we continue going around in that circle. When remembering some of my most painful hurts it seemed that after a while what caused the misunderstanding didn't matter as much to me as the woundedness I blamed on someone else. But if we could see behind the scenes we'd realize that while we're going through all this suffering, the enemy is laughing! The enemy enjoys layering on injury and imagining - encouraging the creative 'blaming' on everyone but us to run wild! Soon a sad situation has become a mess. We're playing right into the enemy's hands. Holding a grudge? Feeling abused? Unforgiving? Convinced of the absolute worst we could 'imagine...?' Blaming others... We're headed straight into an attitude of bitterness and hurt... On page 161 Priscilla writes: "Prayer gets at the truth. The truth of what happened? Yes. If that's really what took place, then yes. The real facts and details don't change as you get real with God in prayer. But get ready for some other pieces of information to bubble up to the surface as well..." It's true that when we come to a place of wanting healing - God will help us. (But He never said it would be pretty.) You may see, as Priscilla did, as I did, your own complicity in the misunderstanding. You may see that your unforgiveness caused an escalation of the hurt you and another suffered. You may even see that your mistaken impressions fostered an attitude of false impressions that had nothing to do with the truth. Then, when God lays all the evidence on the table, you can pick up the pieces that are yours. You can ask for His forgiveness and watch those pieces vanish. You feel the freedom and peace of forgiveness and are able to then focus on forgiving. ~ Andi
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