I Will Greet This Day with a Forgiving Spirit

Greetings,


I appreciate all of the messages that were left, thank you. Now, let's get back to David Ponder and his travel through time. For those of you who might be new to my blog you can read the archives and catch up with what we are talking about. Out of all of the people in the Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews I like this one the most. His name is Abraham Lincoln! I am not sure if I like him so much because he saved our nation, emancipated the slaves, or just because he was a Republican! Either way this turns out to be a very inspiring chapter.

Just like before David Ponder finds himself being hurled through time and landing in a tent. Now, it would be a great experience just to meet Lincoln at all but David's learning experience is about to take a great twist. Ponder meets Lincoln as he enters a tent that has been set up in a field. Lincoln introduces himself and then shares the next, great decision for a successful life and it is this...I Will Greet This Day with a Forgiving Spirit. Boom! There it is!

For me this is the hardest one to even come close to achieving. Forgive? Oh no, not me! As I said, there was something more for David Ponder than just a normal message. He was about to experience something that would engrain that message of forgiveness in his mind and in his spirit forever. For, this message of forgiveness was given to David in a tent, in a field, at a place that held great significance then, and still does today. David was meeting Lincoln just before he delivered a speech...The Gettysburg Address.

Lincoln tells David that going around with an unforgiving heart keeps from fulfill our true destinies. He uses the battle of Gettysburg as an example of death and destruction, a place of hate and division. Yet in the midst of this much tragedy and sorrow, forgiveness can be sought. For it is when we truly begin to carry out the idea of a forgiving spirit it frees up to do the things that we like to do, want to do, need to do, the things that God has called us to do.

Having a forgiving spirit is not saying that all of the bad things that were ever done to you is ok. It is not saying that we let people off the hook of consequence when they wrong us. We just have to think of forgiveness in a different kind of way. Forgiveness, true forgiveness, is about us and about our relationship with God. Forgiving someone of something doesn't say to that person that they no longer need experience the consequences of that action. What true forgiveness means is that we forgive others so that we can get closer to God. Unforgiveness is a road block. It makes our journeys home to hard to travel. Unforgiveness is not saying it's alright what you did, it's saying I forgive you because I need to get closer to my Father. It's not OK what you did but I forgive you for my sake and not necessarily yours.

How about you? Are you a type of person who can hold a grudge forever? Are you the type of person who is mired in unforgiveness? Abraham Lincoln was right, an unforgiving heart can derail a person's whole life. But the real question is not can you forgive others. The big question is this...can you forgive yourself?

To me, that is the biggest question of all. Being able to forgive yourself frees you up emotionally and spiritually. Having an unforgiving heart towards yourself keeps you bitter and sad. To be successful in life we must learn how to forgive ourselves. It is not going to be easy. Some of us have some garbage in the dumpsters of our lives. We have thrown it away but, for some reason, it sticks with us. It eats at us and takes our focus off of more important things. For me, it blocks my relationship with God. Unforgiveness eats at you and it show no mercy to anyone. It wrecks marriages and friendships and it wrecks lives.

So, how do we find this forgiving spirit? We find it through God and His spirit. You want to know about real forgiveness, ask Jesus. Won't you try to resolve the bitterness in your heart today? Won't you try and say to God, “I need help and I need you to help me”. A forgiving spirit means that forgiveness is constantly being utilized in our lives. We not only forgive those who have wronged us but we also seek to be a person who inspires forgiveness in others and that is where Abraham Lincoln comes in.

When Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address he was speaking about both North and South. Great killing went on there. Over forty five thousand troops lost their lives on that field. Bitterness was rampant between the north and south. I find it poetic justice that Andy Andrews would pick the Civil War to talk about forgiving. But, enough about David Ponder and more about you.

Is your journey home filled with the potholes of unforgiveness. If so, you need to get rid of them. I know that I am making it sound easy, but I know it is not. That is why God has said that He will help. The love of God can fill your heart so that there i s no room for anything else. A key to a more successful and full life experience truly can be realize by waking each morning and deciding to have a forgiving spirit. I pray that you will consider it. I also pray the other statements are being integrated in your daily lives. Remember, forgiveness does not say it's ok, it says I don't want anything to interfere with my relationship with God. We forgive because God tells us to! So, give it a try! It's going to be easy in some circumstances and very difficult in others. Seek to live each day with a forgiving heart. And while you are at it...you should probably start with yourself...to be continued!

Blessings,


Derek