Forgeddaboudit!!“Bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do [forgive]” (Colossians 3:13). Has anyone ever offended you? Has the government turned your life upside down? Has your spouse been unfaithful to you? Have your children disappointed you? Has someone sued you frivolously or cheated you in business? How we respond to the difficulties of life directly affects our shalom or wholeness. The Word of God says, “Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to [God’s] wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). God is the Avenger, not Uma Thurman or Ralph Fienes, who measures out justice. God, not Mel Gibson, will get us Payback, and then some. How deeply have you been hurt? Have you become bitter or unforgiving in your attitude? Don’t be Unforgiven like Clint Eastwood, but look at the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. Joseph could have easily been a very bitter man. His brothers hated him, left him for dead and sold him into slavery. His master’s wife falsely accused him of rape and had him thrown into an Egyptian prison. A government official promised to help him but instead left him in prison to rot. Despite all these things, Joseph did not allow any root of bitterness to take hold in his life (Hebrews 12:15). Many lives are spoiled by bitterness and a lack of forgiveness. People go through physical and emotional breakdowns because they refuse to forgive other people. The heaviest thing we can carry is a grudge, and the longer we carry it, the heavier it becomes. As God’s children, we cannot afford to harbor bitterness in our souls, for it will destroy us. 3 John 2 says that God will prosper us and keep us in health only if our soul prospers. And our soul will only prosper as we renew our mind with the Word of God and obey it. After forgiving someone, forgetfulness is vital. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh because “God has made me FORGET all my toil and all my father’s house” (Genesis 41:51). He then named his second son Ephraim because “God has caused me to be FRUITFUL in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52). Joseph not only forgave his brothers, but also forgot the evil deeds they had committed against him. Forgetfulness is the seed we need to sow to reap the harvest of fruitfulness. Like Joseph, we need to keep short accounts with God and people, even Ruthless People like Danny DeVito. Don’t lock bitterness and guilt In The Bedroom of your soul. Be forgetful so you can be fruitful. Forgive and forget. Or sing like the Sopranos and just Forgeddaboudit! Copyright © 2002 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved. Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
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