Forgiveness Is Not a Feeling

Photo credit: Free-images.com

Corrie ten Boom did the unimaginable after surviving a Nazi concentration camp. In her uplifting and powerful autobiography The Hiding Place, Corrie tells of the moment, years after her release, when she came face to face with the Nazi guard who had brutalized her and countless others. She had just finished speaking on the need for forgiveness -- one of many talks she gave across the world -- when the former guard approached her, asked if she would forgive him, and offered her his outstretched hand. Standing there facing him, she did not feel forgiving, yet she knew she had to live what she had just preached. The only thing she felt she could do was lift her hand. So, slowly and mechanically, she brought her hand up toward his. When he grasped it, she felt what she described as a kind of electric current run down her arm and through their clasped hands. She then experienced an unlikely sense of deep, freeing peace flowing through her and toward this man. 

Notice that it was only after Corrie’s hand grasped his did the feeling come to her. That’s because forgiveness is an act of the will, not a feeling. Forgiving is deciding to not hold onto the wrongdoing any longer. (Reconciliation requires both parties. Forgiveness involves only one.)

Who do you need to forgive? A parent? Your spouse? A teacher? A friend? Yourself? We might not feel forgiving, but we can decide to forgive them. We might not feel anything dramatic like Corrie did afterwards but, still, we can set ourselves free from the transgression. We can let it go. We can say out loud, “Lord, I forgive _____ for _____. “ 

Christ lives in us; we possess His power to forgive. Imagine yourself preparing to confront someone who has hurt you. Listen to Christ speak to you these encouraging words:

Speak to him with love. My love. It will come from Me, not you. You have too much pain in your heart right now. Let me fill you with My love. It’s My love you will offer to him. You may not feel you can do that, and that’s why it won’t be your love, but Mine, that you offer. How do you do that? Keep Me by your side and forefront in your mind in everything you say and do. Let My love soak into all your words.

We forgive others in order to free ourselves from the desire to retaliate. This doesn’t mean we put ourselves in dangerous or vulnerable situations; we have to protect ourselves. Also, forgiving may not lead to reconciliation. Yet when we’ve forgiven from the heart, the person who hurt us no longer controls our emotions. 

“ (Pray), ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’... If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

--Matthew 6:12, 14-15

“Lord, help me to forgive.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2024 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

You can also find my posts on Facebook!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate toward a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

God: "Work With Me"

Photo credit: Free-images.com

Corrie ten Boom’s family used the resources from their watch-repair business in Holland to keep countless Jews safe from the Nazis during WWII. They were eventually arrested for their underground work and for hiding Jews in their home. In her gripping autobiography The Hiding Place, Corrie relates how God’s loving power was evident while they worked and even in the concentration camps. She says, “Every experience God gives us… is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see.”

In the Old Testament, when Solomon was about to begin his reign as king after the death of his father David, God tells Solomon to “Ask something of Me and I will give it to you.” When Solomon asks only for wisdom in leading the people – not riches for himself – God rewards him and gives him not only wisdom but riches and honor also (see 1 Kings 3:4-13).

In our own lives, no matter what work we do, when we work with and for Christ, He’ll give us all we need and more besides.

“Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.” – Psalm 86:4

Imagine our Lord saying to you:

If you were to ask Me only for riches, that’s all you would receive.

If you ask Me for satisfying employment, you’ll receive fulfilling work to occupy your days, self-confidence and pride in a job well done, and enough money to sustain you.

If you were to ask Me for things, that’s all you would have: material things that break, rust, or get used up. 

If you ask Me for graces, like wisdom, courage, strength, and patience, then these graces will fulfill your life, bring you happiness and peace, and allow you to work toward acquiring the things you’d like to have. Your happiness and peace are more important, more fulfilling, and more valuable to Me than the things you have.

Look not for riches but for work that you enjoy, that fills your soul with peace.

The gifts you’ve been given were for the purpose of doing work that fulfills you. 

Your life is not your job.

Keep Me with you and even the most difficult tasks and the most labor-intensive job will have meaning for you far beyond your paycheck.

Don’t ask for things only for yourself. Ask, rather, for those things that will benefit others. Then you will also be given what you need.

Work with the Lord, and He’ll give you more than you ask for.

“Happy the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God.”

– Psalm 146:5

“Lord, let my work be done with and for You.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2024 Gina Bedell     

Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly to your inbox, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

You can also find my posts on Facebook!

P.S.

Pray for peace in Ukraine, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate toward a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

The Freedom of Forgiveness

 

Corrie ten Boom did the unimaginable after surviving a Nazi concentration camp. In her uplifting and powerful autobiography The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie ten Boom, she tells of the moment years after her release when she came face to face with the Nazi guard who had brutalized her and countless others. She had just given a talk on the need for forgiveness -- one of many speeches she gave across the world -- when the former guard approached her, asked if she would forgive him, and offered her his outstretched hand. Slowly and mechanically she lifted her hand and, as he grasped it, she felt a kind of electric current run down her arm to their clasped hands; a freeing feeling of deep peace flowed through her and toward this man.

Notice that it was only after Corrie grasped his hand did the feeling come to her. That’s because forgiveness is an act of the will, not a feeling. Forgiving is deciding to not hold onto the wrongdoing any longer. (Reconciliation requires both parties; forgiveness involves only you.)

Consider:

‘The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.’ –Luke 6:38

and

“…Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...”

--Matthew 6:12

Who do you need to forgive? A parent? Your spouse? A teacher or friend? Yourself? We might not feel forgiving, but we can decide to forgive them. We might not feel anything dramatic like Corrie did; still, we can set ourselves free from the transgression. We can let it go. We can say out loud, “Lord, I forgive _____ for _____. “  

‘Be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful.’ –Luke 6:36

God lives in us; we have His power in us to forgive.  And as we forgive others, so does God forgive us. We’re freed from others’ wrongdoings, we’re freed from our own sins, and we’re empowered to forgive others again in a loving cycle of forgiveness, freedom, and peace.

“God’s forgiveness is a sign of His overflowing love for each of us… it is the tenderness with which each sinner is welcomed when he knocks at His door… His heart rejoices over every child who returns…” – Pope Francis

God wants to forgive you!

Today, Wednesday, March 16, all Catholic churches in the Diocese of Cleveland will be open for the Sacrament of Reconciliation from 5-8 p.m.  Remember that Christ is there, hidden by the priest. Whether it’s been a week or a lifetime since your last Confession, you’re invited to ‘begin again’ at any church in the diocese. If not today, then sometime during Lent, let Jesus pour His loving grace and mercy upon you through this wonderful sacrament of freedom, peace, and reconciliation with God. 

“Lord, give me the grace and courage to seek Your forgiveness and forgive others.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. Comments are always welcome! Feel free to share it with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Thanks!

 p.s.

The Cleveland Maidan Association is one of many trusted organizations sending help to Ukraine. If you’d like to donate to them using either PayPal OR a credit/debit card, use this link:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...