What Grips You?

I absolutely love what I do. I love being able to sit and talk with people about what is going on in their lives. Many times the journeys that I hear stun me. So many people, including myself have been shaped by tragic events, monumental mistakes, deep hurts. If you have experienced something difficult or hurting in life you know the impact that it has on you as an individual and in your relationship with others. We put up walls, lack trust, become someone we aren’t so that we might please someone else, our lives change because of the things we have done or the things that have been done to us. We become gripped by the past. It is amazing how good we become at becoming someone else. It is so hard to deal with the things of yesterday. It is hard to deal with for a couple of reasons: 1. We can’t seem to forgive those who have wronged us. I say this very sensitively. I realize that the pain of being hurt cuts deeper then most will ever know. Whether it is divorce, disinterest, death, abuse, conditional love, or a multitude of other things, we have a hard time forgiving. Or maybe it’s just me? Forgiveness is hard to offer sometimes, because honestly, i think inside most of us, we want the score settled. We want that person or persons to know how bad we hurt. But you know, unforgiveness is so punishing. When i refuse to forgive someone who has wronged me, it is ME that ends up hurting worse. They don’t even realize I care enough to not forgive. One guy told me, “refusing to forgive someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die!” So true. My refusal to forgive destroys me before it every hurts the person that has hurt me. If i could encourage you today, FORGIVE! It doesn’t mean you condone what happened to you, it just means you have decided to stop carrying it around. Stop being gripped by it. I know it was terrible, i know someone should pay, but YOU need to be freed up. Forgive them and let Christ handle it from here. Move from the Victim to the Victor through forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32, “forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Even if they don’t deserve your forgiveness, forgive so that you can be freed up! Lay it down. 2. People remind us of our past. The second reason it is hard to deal with the things of yesterday is because often people will not let us move on. What i mean is, there is always someone who wants to remind us of who we Used to be or what you did at some other time. Now i understand there are consequences to actions. I get that. However, i believe whole heartedly that when Christ forgives you, you are forgiven indeed. I believe that when Christ saves you, you are changed from the inside out. You are a NEW creature. The Old or yesterday is gone, all things are new. I understand that we still may have to deal with the consequences of past decisions, but the fact is that man or woman is new. You may have to pay the price of the past, but you do not have to be trapped in the past! There are always those who want to remind us of our past, our failures, our mess ups, but Christ in You reminds you that it is no longer you who lives but Christ in you. Even when others refuse to let your past go, you must trust Christ has made all things new. Can you imagine how many times the Apostle Paul must have been challenged by what he had done before Christ forgave him? Just as his past didn’t keep him from having an eternal impact, neither should your past. Be strong and courageous. 

 

So what has you gripped? Do you need to forgive? Do you need to keep moving forward and let the past remain in the past?