I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to what it means to forgive. Like really forgive. Forgiveness is easy for me when someone cuts me off in traffic, forgets to include me or one of my kiddos in a party, or makes a remark that stings. Those offenses frustrate or hurt in the moment, but I find I generally can forgive and move on relatively easily.
But, it is another story when the hurt is deep – like really deep. What about situations where there is no apology, no repentance, and no change in the hurtful actions? That is a different story. And, a much more complicated sort of forgiveness that does not come naturally to me. At all.
So, I’m doing a lot of thinking, research, and reading about forgiveness and will share what I’ve found and what I’m thinking in a series of posts about forgiveness in complicated, hard circumstances and forgiveness that is for real.
Just recently I’ve jumped on the podcast bandwagon – no one ever accused me of being on the front edge of anything – and now I know why people have loved these since about 2015. Over the weekend, I ran across two that spoke to this issue of complicated forgiveness.
The story of Joseph and his brothers is one of significant hurt, long term forgiveness, and how God does work for good in the long run. Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 ministries has a 2-part series on how Joseph forgave – even when just about any person wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.
There’s Always a Meanwhile – June 29, 2018
Six Practical Steps to Forgive – July 9, 2018
