The Secrets of Forgiveness

Tamara discusses the miracle of forgiveness by sharing 3 people we can forgive and 4 tips to help us forgive. The Secrets to ForgivenessForgivenessOn today's episode, we are going to talk about a powerful word that is really hard. I've kind of got mixed emotions about it: forgiveness. And we're going to talk about three people you can forgive and four steps to help you do it. Last week, we had a very interesting conversation with our good friend, Debbie Ihler Rasmussen. and Debbie is an amazing author and a good friend of mine. We talked about courageous things, including being courageous in the ability to forgive her husband, when he had had several affairs. And that was something that was really really hard for Debbie. She finally said that one person told her that if you can't forgive someone, you're letting them rent space in your head for free. And we often carry this weight of anger and frustration against people. So today I thought we'd talk a little bit about forgiveness because I don't know about you, but it is something I've struggled with throughout my life. And I want to talk today about how we forgive and who we forgive. Who We Forgive1. Forgive GodThe first person I think we often get angry with is God. Maybe it's just me. But when my son Nathan had been diagnosed with autism I was very angry with God because I knew He could heal my son, but He chose not to. I wish I could say it was different. But it wasn't. Some people will close God out of their lives when they're angry with Him. Like they don't even want to talk to Him. And that's a normal reaction. So if you've ever felt that way, please don't beat yourself up over it. But I was one of those who felt comfortable talking to God about how I felt. I think God knows where we are, and takes us where we are. He knew I didn't like feeling angry or feeling frustrated. I didn't like feeling that my life was so completely out of my control and I felt God was causing it. And so, as I talked to Him about it, and I asked him to help me with it. He did. He blessed me with peace although it was not immediate. This process probably took over a year. I talked about the whole process in my book, https://amzn.to/2FFAnPU (Normal for Me). (So if you want to read all the nitty gritty go ahead and read it there.) But it was a hard process for me. So if you've ever felt angry with God, know you're not the only one. But I think sometimes, especially in times like this when things have changed (like the coronavirus) or when things are just falling apart, we might have the tendency to point our finger and blame God. And there's a way to get past that. Great Bible VersesSometimes maybe we feel like David in the Psalms, where he says in Psalm 22:1 "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring?" Do you ever feel like roaring at God? I know I do. Sometimes we feel He's gone far away. Maybe we've pushed Him far away because we're angry with Him, and we need to forgive Him. But here's God's answer to us in another beautiful verse from 2 Kings chapter 20:5, "I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears. I will heal thee." So know that even though we may push God far away, He can and will heal us. You can't do anything to push yourself too far away from God. He's always there waiting like in the story of the prodigal waiting for us to "come to ourselves" and turn back home. And when we do turn to Him, He comes, and runs to us and embraces us. So reach out to God. 2. Forgive YourselfThe second person that we need to forgive is ourselves. Have you ever done something wrong and then felt the weight of that mistake on your head, shoulders and heart? You can't seem to forgive yourself. I know I felt that way before. The Tie Between Forgiveness and LoveI think forgiveness is tied to love. When Jesus Christ is talking about his great commandments--to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. We can't love...