Day 72- Forgiveness
📖Daily Reading
2 Chronicles 30-36
🎥 Video
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📝 Reflection
2 Chronicles
30:18-19
Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the law. For Hezekiah said, “May the Lord, who is good, Pardon, those who decide to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony.” And the Lord listened to Hezekiahs prayer and healed the people.
33: 12-13
But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!
35: 22-23
But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. But the enemy archers hit King Josiah with their arrows and wounded him. He cried out this men, “Take from the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
I am going to let these scriptures speak directly to me and for me and to you today. I pulled a few examples of forgiveness from the last several chapters of 2 Chronicles. I know I don’t always fully understand forgiveness much less am able to accomplish it. Sometimes I mistaken think that it is ‘rewarding’ the person you forgive, sometimes I think it means also forgetting, sometimes I think it gives me or the other person a free pass on future trespasses - maybe ‘pre-forgiving’. Forgiving in the dictionary means - to cease to feel resentment of or claim to requital of an insult; to grant relief from payment of a debt. It is situational and specific. Therefore it also means it is just as much of a benefit to the forgiver as to the forgiven.
As a person who forgives I am released or freed from resentment or worrying about a claim, ceasing to feel insulted or worrying about collecting a debt. As the forgiven I am also freed from being resented, owing, being wrong past the event. But notice it also does not say anything about future events, it is specific. I think sometimes we withhold forgiveness because we think we are rewarding people and that we also might be giving people permission to hurt us or do wrong again. As someone who is forgiven, I can often also make the same mistake and take liberties with thinking or behavior that maybe I shouldn’t.
It is clear through these examples God is always watching the heart and forgiving appropriately, specifically and situationally. His character is never questionable it is always consistent. It is we humans who are corrupt and mistaken in our understanding and seem to have amnesia. In the first example we see Hezekiah earnestly doing his best to put God first back in his own life and for the people, they were doing their best with what they had and not getting caught up in perfectionism and humbly asking God for his forgiveness and his blessing on their efforts. In the second example Manasseh was an awful and evil king and he had severe consequences, but God saw his heart and his true posture of repentance and forgiveness was granted, but his sins were not forgotten and were recorded. In the third example, Josiah was a great King who did a lot right in the sight of the Lord and was ensured that although Jerusalem would be destroyed that it would not happen during his lifetime. So it seems maybe he fell into the thinking that he was so forgiven that he had a free ‘hall pass’. He ignored the warning to stay out of Neco’s way and his business, which was God’s business. He died as a result of not heeding this warning in his mistaken thinking that he was so good and so forgiven that he could do no wrong. Wrong! God judges things individually and situationally and so can we.
Forgiveness is a tricky thing when we leave it to our own human understanding and logic. Forgiveness is acknowledging that you might not know the whole story, you might not know the whole heart of another, that you are not judge jury and executioner, that it is not worth your own peace of mind and heart to hold onto something. Forgiveness is not forgetting, giving a free pass or a reward. Ultimately it is God’s to give or not give, he does know the whole story and every individual heart and mind.
Un-forgiveness ‘is like drinking poison hoping the other person dies’. Often it is ourselves we hold hostage and imprisoned by unforgiveness. Also, the person we might most need to forgive and accept forgiveness for most and from is ourselves! Many of us do literally drink poison because we can’t forgive others, ourselves or accept that God’s forgiveness could possible be for us or them.
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
Are you harboring un-forgiveness for someone or yourself and drinking the poison of bitterness, sadness or anger? Is it time to forgive and give it to God to handle and free yourself from the resentment, score keeping and debt collecting?
Can you learn from Hezekiah to just do your best and humbly ask for forgiveness for not doing it perfectly and bless your mess? Can you learn from Menessah and acknowledge and fully own your wrongs and repent? Can you learn from Josiah’s mistake and remember stay humble and not take forgiveness for granted?
📖Tomorrows Reading
Ezra 1-10
Coaching Opportunity
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