Dear Ones,
Hope your day is full of His peace. I plan to go to Exercise class this morning and Craft class this afternoon and Bible Study this evening.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
All of us have been forgiven much, everything we have ever done or will ever do, when we believe in the Lord and ask forgiveness. This wondrous gift came at a great price, for Jesus gave His life that we might be forgiven and have life eternal. (John 3:16) But it should never end there, for we are also to forgive anyone who hurts us, knowing we have been forgiven much.

I was reminded of that when I went to visit a Christian friend who shared how she had been berated and hollered at by a care giver, simply because she put her light on for help. The person had done this before and my friend had answered her back, only this time she had just kept quiet, knowing that saying anything would only escalate things. We talked about the situation and I told her that she would need to forgive her, even though the other person wasn’t sorry. When we forgive, then God will deal with the person and we are set free. It helped that we talked about how Jesus knew exactly how she was feeling for He forgave those who mocked Him, spit on Him and there were times He simply kept silent. Her heart softened and she replied, “Yes, I can forgive her! I will forgive her.” We ended up praying for the gal who makes life hard for her, and my friend had peace in forgiveness.

We have only to think of Joseph also, who was sold as a slave by his brothers and spent time in prison for something he had not done. He could have become bitter, but he helped others even while in prison. He was patient and put himself in the hands of God who later delivered him and made him the mightiest man in the country after Pharaoh. Rather than getting even with his brothers, he was forgiving and let God handle that situation, resulting in restoration and his family being saved during the famine that followed. When we suffer, let us forgive even though we don’t know how God will handle the situation or how long it will take. A beautiful example of this in our day is Erika Kirk who forgave the man who killed her beloved husband.
Challenge for today: When treated badly, let us be quick to forgive and put it all in God’s hands.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy