Forgiving When It’s Hard
Currently we’re in a message series called “God’s Power For Your Relationships.” In the last weeks I’ve talked about the importance of love and patience. This week, I want to tackle a somewhat more difficult topic. What do we do when a relationship has problems? When a relationship becomes damaged? When someone we care about hurts us? Some people hold a grudge and become bitter. Others try to pretend that nothing has happened. Neither response is God’s way to deal with problems in a relationship. The way to bring healing to a relationship that has been damaged is through forgiveness.
Today my topic is “Forgiving When It’s Hard.” Some forgiveness is easy, when the hurt is small, when the other person seems truly sorry. However, forgiving is hard in other situations. Forgiving is hard when the hurt is big. Forgiving is hard when you are hurt repeatedly. Forgiving is hard when the other person does not seem to be sorry. Sometimes we may feel that we just can’t forgive what someone has done to us.
Take a quick inventory of your life this morning. Is there anyone in your life who you hold a grudge against? Is there someone who has hurt you and you feel bitterness, resentment or anger toward them? If there is, keep that person in your mind as listen this morning. God wants to release your mind and emotions from the pain of what someone else has done. And in many cases the relationship can be restored. What is the key? The key is forgiveness.
NLT Colossians 3:13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. There is a word in that verse that occurs two times that I would like you to circle, the word is must. It is repeated twice for emphasis, you must forgive. Those are commands from God for every believer. Forgive, even when it’s hard. Why must we forgive when it’s difficult? Because the Lord forgave us. Each one of us has been forgiven by Jesus for our wrongs. When we truly understand how much we have been forgiven for, we can forgive others, even when it’s hard.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my April 29, 2007 message entitled Forgiving When It’s Hard via
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Visit Life Church St Louis, Ballwin
Related posts:
- Relationship Damage Control
- Restoring Damaged Relationships
- Releasing God’s Power Of Forgiveness
- What To Do When You Are Hurt
- Practicing Patience
Hello Pastor Dan,
I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed this sermon and how you teach. One thing that I didn’t like about sermons when I was younger was that I always felt like the pastor was forcing things down my throat..per se. I did not feel this way when you taught. I felt very comfortable listening to you talk and just as if you were a teacher (as a pastor should be). I am going to have my husband listen to your sermon, he really needs to learn to forgive some people over this past year.
I actually wrote about my first experience at the church in my blog. I felt very comfortable there and I will be attending more often and hopefully my husband can join along.
I hope to see you in two weeks.
God Bless,
Stephanie D.
Stephanie,
Glad you liked the church. I also enjoyed the post on your blog about visiting the church. We look forward to seeing you again.
Pastor Dan