forgiveness

Kick the Dust off and Keep Moving!

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I was eager for the sunrise this morning, and I had the most precious time with the Living God on the front porch with a hot cup of coffee and a Willing Spirit. I may be a bold warrior in this crazy world of ours, but my Heart has been tenderized by the King, and if I’m not careful, I can find my way to Discouragement when I get hurt…and my Enemy knows it! Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home,” which (basically) means that it’s those closest to you who often work against you, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Kingdom work. I’m very blessed to have a kind, compassionate, and supportive family, and my household is a place of Peace and Honor for ALL. Over the years, I have purged my life of the most hurtful people, and I’ve “kicked the dust off” my feet more times than I can count. When it comes to Kingdom Business there’s no room to tolerate the work of the Enemy, who often uses those closest to us in an attempt to cause us to stumble. I think it might be time to do a little kicking and purging again to rid my life of a “friend” being used like a pawn of Satan set out to “rob, kill, and destroy” so I’m praying over hurt that could potentially cause me to “react” if I’m not careful. I’ll do whatever it takes – I’ll leave anything and anyone behind IF they are on a Mission to destroy BECAUSE my Relationship with Jesus Christ is far more important than my relationship with them! Isn’t that the way you see it too?

When we become Christians, we don’t become “perfect,” and we’re subject to hurt just like everybody else. It’s what we do with the hurt that separates us from the rest of the world, and it’s how we deal with the one who hurt us that matters even more. My Heart has been Tenderized by the King, so most hurtful things will easily roll off my back as I pray for the one who hurt me instead of focusing on my pain. I’ve been Heart Schooled by the Master, so most of the time I can speak words of Reason and Compassion to the one who hurt me, and most of the time they see their part in my hurt when I do. I’ve been filled with Wisdom by the One who Created me (because I ask for it every day), so most of the time I can see the hurt in the works long before it ever makes its way to my Heart. I’ve been Trained by the Heavenly Arbitrator, so most of the time I can easily settle a dispute with a willing one, and it has become easy to say “Forgive me” and mean it. Some hurts are minor wounds, and some hurts cut to the core. Some are minor infractions and some are massive betrayals. But no matter how small or how large the “offense” is, hurt and disappointment have no place in my Heart, and it’s always up to ME to get my Heart right, even if they don’t care to make things right with me. Hurt and disappointment have the potential to damage my Heart, and the pain I feel has the potential to take root within me if I’m not careful. So, I can’t afford to hold onto hurt, and I get to work on it as soon as it shows up! This is the Key to Maturity in Faith.

Sometimes I allow myself to temporarily wallow in my pain because I’m always SHOCKED when someone close to me hurts or betrays me. When I’m hurt or betrayed, my first thought is “I don’t deserve to be treated like that!”…But we aren’t wronged because we “deserve” to be. When we’re wronged, it’s because the other person thinks a whole lot more about themselves than they may ever think about us or how their actions pierced the heart of another. Those people haven’t grasped the “Love thy neighbor as thyself” command yet. When you think about it, that’s a VERY sad way to live. Maybe I’m inclined to lick my wounds sometimes, and I might spend a few days with a hurt and disappointed Heart every once in a while, but as long as I run to the Great Physician to get my OWN Heart Healed as fast as I can, I know that I’ll be able to forgive the other person in the Process. What has been done TO me dims in comparison to what the Living God expects FROM me in the midst of the Trial.

It took a Spiritual trip to the Woodshed, but eventually, I confessed it all to the Living God and I asked for Forgiveness for the condition of my OWN Heart – and NOW all is well with my Soul despite the wrong against me. I can’t control the other person allowing themselves to be used as a pawn for Satan set out to discourage and disarm me, so I’ll leave the Details up to them and God. The only things I can ever really control are my Heart, my mind, my soul, and my “space”. This is the Key to Humility.

How about you?

Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times”

You (Lord) are my Sonshine, my ONLY Sonshine!

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I’m ready for this new day after my time with the Author and Perfecter of my Faith, a good dose of His Living Word, and a hot cup of coffee. It’s cold and overcast this morning, and my Heart is missing the sunshine, so since I can’t enjoy the warmth outside, I’ll enjoy the warmth these beautiful sunflowers (a gift from my precious friend) bring me instead. I determine to enjoy each new day, rain or shine, hot or cold, and my glass is usually half full. This time of year can go from the feeling of a warm summer day to freezing temperatures and then back again from one day to the next. I am confident that the sun is always waiting just behind the clouds and that nothing is predictable in the Spring in Virginia. When you think about it, isn’t that just the way it is in this Journey of Faith too?

Some people don’t LOOK for the sunshine because they enjoy having frost around their hearts year-round instead. It’s as if they enjoy being “a victim,” and it’s their mission to put the world on notice that they were wounded at some point. They refuse to allow the warmth of the Son to melt the cold away as if they’ll somehow lose their strength if they let it go. They strut around with a cold heart as if it’s something to be proud of, and they have every excuse imaginable for why they refuse to let go of an offense. These people can hold on to something someone did to them like a snapping turtle year after year, refusing to let go as if refusing forgiveness will (in some twisted sort of way) get even with the one who wronged them. Their emotions can flare up in a heartbeat as they recount the wrongs, and they relive the events as if they just happened yesterday. Some even wish for horrible, hurtful things to happen to the one who caused them pain, while others stretch “tape” around their lives like a crime scene, daring anybody to cross the line. They carry the weight of unforgiveness around like a sack loaded with rocks, and no matter how weary they become from the weight or how injured they become from the stress, they REFUSE to let it go. Unfortunately for these people, their glass is always half empty, and they would never know what it means to be content with a few sunflowers in place of the sun.

I know that when I go before my God and ask for forgiveness for my wrongs, they are “as far as the east is from the west” because the Bible says so. The Ultimate price has already been paid for me and my sins and I find indescribable comfort in knowing that as soon as I confess them, they’re forgiven. Remembering this is the Key to being able to forgive others, too. I’ll NEVER forget what a “wretch” I was before Jesus found me, and I’ll never grow tired of embracing the Price He paid for my Sins. I didn’t earn it. I didn’t deserve it. I could never have paid it on my own. This is the way I see it – if He could save a wretch like me…if He could lay down His life to pay the Price I couldn’t pay myself…if He could meet me where I was and Love me just as I am, WHO DO I THINK I AM TO WITHHOLD FORGIVENESS? The Key to being able to extend forgiveness to people you don’t believe deserve it is to NEVER lose sight of the price He paid to forgive YOUR wrongs. His Rules are pretty simple – if you want His Forgiveness, then you better be willing to extend it to someone else no matter what they’ve “done” to you. I wouldn’t want to be you if you refuse to forgive, that’s for sure.

I’ve experienced some serious wrongs in my life, and I’ve been labeled a “doormat” countless times as I’ve picked myself back up and then “let it go” over and over again. I’ve heard every reason under the sun for what I “should” do to get even – always under the guise of “making the wrongs right” as if God has exceptions to His own Rules about forgiveness. Those advisors may be able to fool themselves when they “justify” hateful thoughts and deeds, but they can’t fool God. What I don’t understand is why they would lift a finger to make things right when they can leave the reckoning up to a Mighty God instead. The Bible says, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” so I can’t think of a better way for the wrongs to be made Right than to Trust the Living God with the outcome. He already knows it all, and He will have the ultimate say. His forgiveness is the ONLY forgiveness that ever really matters.

I’m an imperfect woman striving to live a Life that is a good Reflection of my King. I’m determined to look at the Bright Side, and my glass will remain half full all the days of my Life. I’ll do my best to “plow my own field” instead of concerning myself with the “fields” of others. I won’t carry a grudge or refuse to forgive someone who wrongs me today, and I’ll do everything in my power to let the Light of my Faith shine on this overcast day. I’ll be satisfied with a beautiful jar full of sunflowers in place of the sunshine, and I’ll be focusing on the Nourishment these flowers needed to grow into something beautiful. I want to be like the flowers – clinging to the basic things to find Nourishment, Strength, and Growth. As long as I keep reaching for the Son, I’ll find everything I need.

Just think…He reached my Heart with just a few sunflowers; imagine what He can do for you!

He Already Knows…

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It was 0° at sunrise this morning and although I’m longing for some warmer days, I accept what it is today because I trust the Master’s Hand with everything in my Life. He already Knows my plans have been thwarted because of the snow, ice, and cold and He Knows that we haven’t been able to gather at The Well for a few weeks because of it. He already Knows that people are struggling just to heat their homes and that schools are closing until the conditions are safer for the kids and the buses. He already Knows that some people don’t have shelter to escape the bitter temperatures and that some will lose a life or limb because of it. He already Knows it all because He’s already in Tomorrow. As I considered my God who is the “same yesterday, today, and forevermore” I was overwhelmed and I began to weep. I didn’t need to tell Him that I needed a little “extra” this morning…He met me right where I was on this cold January morning because He already knows EVERYTHING about me, He Loves me, and He died for me! The Love and Compassion of the Living God never cease to amaze me. Isn’t that the way it is for you sometimes too?

From where I sit, it seems so easy for some people to believe they’re small in the eyes of a busy God all because of the natural thought process of man, but they miss out on the most amazing Relationship when they do. We tend to gauge our relationship with the Living God the way we gauge all of our other relationships, but God doesn’t work that way. Some people have a hard time accepting that God could forgive them of something horrific they did in the past, but that’s because they know that man is inclined to withhold forgiveness like a judge and jury even though the God they profess tells them to forgive no matter what. Some people struggle to conquer a wrong and they repeat it over and over again because they refuse to accept His Grace. But even Paul struggled with that one – “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” and God loved Paul enough to hunt him down on the road to Damascus because He Knew Paul was the perfect man for the “job” – past and all. What’s “good” for Paul is good for you and me BUT we need to learn to Trust the Hand of God like Paul did especially when we don’t necessarily like the way things are going. That’s the Key to a rich Relationship with the King of all kings.

Man issues “tolerance limits” on relationships but God never does…because Christ already paid the price and He’s always ready to forgive when we ask. Some people live as if they can hide their dirty little secrets forever but that’s because they don’t Trust in the God who holds tomorrow…the One Who already Knows it all and loves us anyway. Nothing slips by God – not the 0° temperatures at the farm this morning and not things the Devil likes to tell us are “secret”. The enemy comes to “rob, kill, and destroy” and nothing gives him leverage like believing that God is too big to care. As for me, I Know that I’m a child of the Living God and He says that I’m Royalty and because I Know WHO I am in Christ, I’ll never think my life is too small to matter to a big God.

Gauging the Love of God the way we gauge our other relationships is a clear sign that we don’t understand who He is at all. In fact, it goes to show that it’s not YOU who is too small for Him…it’s Him you think is too small for you! His Word says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, “declares the Lord.” There’s not a relationship on earth that is “perfect” and not a human being that will never cause you pain; but that’s the nature of man. God never stops loving. He never gives up on us no matter how many times we fall. He can’t be fooled. He sees it all. He knows the Heart. He knows the mind. He forgives it all. He doesn’t have boundaries on His Love, and He’ll forgive the offenses matter how vile every single time we Repent.

Gauging His love against every other love is not only an insult to the One that “scattered the stars and sky and knows them each by name,” but it’s absolute foolishness! Who would want a god that loves us the way man does? Who would want a god that could be fooled? Who would want a god that says, “I’ve had enough!?” Who would want to serve a god with limitations and boundaries? It’s only when we stop looking at the Living God as if He has the nature of man that we find Peace and Joy AND Love as we’ve never known before!

I began this day with the coldest temperatures we’ve seen in a while and important plans that have been thwarted because of it. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I inclined myself to the Author and Perfecter of my Faith – the Creator of this new day – and I spent time Reinforcing my Trust in the One with the Master Plans. I found my Peace in a world I don’t understand. I found my Joy that always “cometh in the morning” and I found my Contentment. You won’t hear me whining no matter what today (or tomorrow) brings. God has great Plans for me and when He says “forever” I know He means it. I’m looking forward to my Forever with Him and I want to Glorify Him until He carries me to my New Home to live “happily ever after” with Him!

How about you?