Command 32 : Forgive Offenders | Day 223 List Benefits From Offenses!What do you do if you forgive an offender and verbally ask God to bless him, but you still feel the emotional pain and keep reliving the offense? If we want to experience complete freedom from past hurts, there is a vital step that must be carried out. If we fail to see the benefits that God intended for allowing an offense to happen, we will find it difficult to rejoice. We are commanded to rejoice in all things. This includes trials, tribulations, persecutions, false accusations, and all other offenses. (See I Peter 4:13 and Matthew 5:12.) A powerful way to do this is to ask yourself why God might have allowed it to happen.1 As we begin to investigate the bigger picture and think of the offense in terms of God's ultimate purposes for our good, we will find many reasons to genuinely rejoice. Here are some possible reasons why God might allow someone to offend us:
We can be confident that there are benefits to offenses, because "... all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). After Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, he had ample reasons to become bitter and hateful toward them. However, when he was unexpectedly reunited with them, Joseph acknowledged the sovereignty of God in the events of his life by telling his brothers, “Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good ...” (Genesis 50:19-20). We can experience similar victory over bitterness and unforgiveness when we learn to look for the ways God is using an offense to benefit our lives. Try this for yourself today and see if you don't find more than enough reasons to rejoice! -- 1. More teaching on this topic is contained in my book, "Why Did God Let It Happen?". |
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