Health, Spiritual

You Are Forgiving

4 Comments

“You Are Forgiving” by Joan Y. Edwards

Are you forgiving? My answer for you is:
Yes, you are forgiving. You forgive yourself and others. You accept yourself and others. You are at peace with yourself and others.
Repeat these statements with “I” rather than “You” to make them true affirmations for you.
Yes, I am forgiving. I forgive myself and others. I accept myself and others. I am at peace with myself and others.

When others doubt your strength, you may do a little doubting yourself. It’s important to instill in yourself an unwavering belief in your strengths. Believe it is possible that you forgive yourself and others.

Meditate. Pray. Talk with your spiritual minister or counselor. They may help you see how to forgive.
Jesus Christ was one person who told us the benefits of forgiveness. Here are New Testament quotes that might be meaningful to you.

  • Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
  • Mark 11:25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
  • John 8:7 “When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Alexander Pope says, “To err is human; to forgive divine.”
Lewis B. Smedes says, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

The Lord’s Prayer is my favorite prayer:”And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

 

Love yourself as you are. Thank God for your loving ability to forgive yourself and others. When you’re thankful for things, you receive more of it.

 

After my divorce from my first husband, I joined Parents without Partners. I couldn’t believe the anger that a woman I met had for her husband. She had been divorced for ten years. If he had been standing in front of her, I believe her rage was so strong that we would have to restrain her to keep her from killing him.

 

I have heard other people relate how they were mistreated in circumstances long gone by 30 years or more and they are still angry with those who did something they didn’t like…in their eyes, others had mistreated them.

 

I ask these people, “What is that person doing now? What is the person who hurt you so much thinking about? Is he thinking about you? Has he gone past this situation or is he stuck in the same frame in the video of his life as you are. Or has he let go and gotten on with trying to be a better person and learned from the experience.

 

Many times they realize that this experience is having an adverse effect on their lives now when the event happened many years ago. If there are instances like that in your life, I pray that God give you the help you need to forgive and fill that part of your body and heart with love.

 

Forgiveness is a choice. The benefits of forgiveness are many. It helps you physically release tension and relax. Relaxation mode is healing. Spiritually, it is good Karma. What goes around, comes around. The way you treat others is the way others will treat you.

 

Here are resources to help you find forgiveness:
  1. Bible Study Tools. “Forgiveness:” http://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/forgiveness-bible-verses/
  2. Brainy Quotes. “Forgiveness:” http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_forgiveness.html/
  3. Got Questions. “What is the meaning of the Parable of the Prodigal Son?” http://www.gotquestions.org/parable-prodigal-son.html/
  4. Kate Swoboda. “How to Forgive When You Don’t Really Want to:” http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-forgive-when-you-dont-really-want-to/
  5. Phillip Moffittt. “Forgiving the Unforgiveable:” http://dharmawisdom.org/teachings/articles/forgiving-unforgivable

Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
Copyright © 2016 Joan Y. Edwards

4 thoughts on “You Are Forgiving”

  1. Joan,
    You really have us thinking this month…Good going!
    I don’t recall hearing this quote before: Lewis B. Smedes says, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” That will make you think twice about forgiveness.
    In one of my counseling courses, it was recommended to try stopping someone’s ranting anger by asking, “What are you doing right now? And is it helping?” This is just another way to do what you mentioned here.
    In a personal experience, I had to make myself stop telling a story about someone I thought I had forgiven. It seemed unresolved until I replaced those feelings of anger with feelings of love. That’s a step worth taking too.

    Reply

    1. Dear Linda,
      Thank you for writing. I think the quote is so true especially for those who’ve harbored the anger, nourished the anger, and helped magnify the anger over a long-term period of time. They are in a prison with their anger and it’s destroying their ability to be happy. I pray right now for everyone who has unrelinquished anger.
      What we focus on and spend time thinking about is what we will get. All the more reason to turn our anger over to God and pray for that person and for ourselves, so we can really let it go.
      Never Give Up
      Joan

      Reply

    1. Dear Carol,
      Thanks for stopping by. It’s so good to see you. You are right. Forgiveness is truly powerful. The Lord’s forgiveness for us is very AMAZING.
      I have experienced forgiveness from my family and friends which passes all of my expectations. I truly appreciate and love my family and friends because they love me and accept me with all my little foibles, shortcomings, and mistakes.
      I can feel it when God forgives me. It’s like the sea in my stomach is calm and at peace. It’s the same when my family and friends forgive me. It encompasses your whole body and mind. Forgiveness is a very healing thing.
      Celebrate you.
      Never Give Up
      Joan

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *