Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. Okay, maybe I’m being a little bit dramatic, but it did suck. You see, my bag with my camera, all my souvenirs, cash and wallet was stolen. Immediately (with the help of my mom and the bank), my card was cancelled. Thankfully we did it just in time before someone tried to use it. Praise the Lord!
While un-forgiveness leads to bitterness and anxiety, forgiveness leads to peace. I know Jesus would have me forgive this stranger as He has forgiven me. Ephesians 4:32 says,
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
I am also called to love others as Jesus loves them. When you love someone, the love in your heart meets them before the judgement in your mind. 2 Corinthians 5:16 says,
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh..”
My flesh wants to be angry at this stranger and hold onto my bitterness until my things are returned. However, what I really need to do is take off my worldly goggles and put on my Christ-vision goggles in order to see this stranger as Christ sees them. This means loving them as Christ loves them and forgive. After all, they are a stranger to me but they are no stranger to God.
Without forgiveness, we can’t be redeemed. Our ability to forgive is held at our understanding that we are the first servant. If you walk in un-forgiveness, it is going to shape your heart. I refuse to let my heart be shaped by the loss of things of this world. Matthew 6:19–21 says,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor dust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
My prayer is that my treasure be the King of my heart, who is not of this world. Bad things happen because we, as Christians, are wandering in a world that’s not our home.
I want to share with you a prayer of forgiveness that I learned at training camp for the World Race. I hope you are able to read it and release any un-forgiveness that is residing in your heart.
(Name), I forgive you for (know they hurt or offended you).
(Name) I choose this day to no longer live in reaction to that which you have said or done against me.
(Name), I release you from the prison of my un-forgiveness. Even as I have been forgiven, you also in Jesus’ name
I FORGIVE YOU.
I don’t know the name of the person who stole from me. But I have finally, (by the grace of God) come to a place of forgiveness. Now I am able to experience freedom from the hate and the bitterness I felt in my heart. God has changed my perspective over this situation. While that person needs Jesus, I have Jesus. The best thing of all- no thief can ever take my Jesus away from me.
Having my bag with all my things stolen was not a fun experience, but through every bad experience God can redeem it and use it for His good. I can’t control my circumstance, but I can control my response. I am thankful that God spoke through my circumstance and my circumstance did not speak for who God is. Because God is good, even when my day is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
