Words from Wendy

“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”
Proverbs 17:9 NLT
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” Proverbs 17:9 NIV
Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and-good-bye friend.”
Proverbs 17:9 The Message

Forgive and forget. Sounds simple, right? Even in the different translations reading is easier than doing. So how can you truly forgive and forget? First, realize that real, lasting, healing forgiveness is something that comes from God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you get a handle on it. Acknowledge how difficult forgiveness is, and thank Him for forgiving your sins over and over again.

Next, understand the difference between forgetting and choosing to not remember. God doesn’t ask you to develop amnesia; wrongs done to you will always be a part of your story. But when God forgives you, He banishes your wrongs from His thoughts, as He explains in Isaiah 43:25 - “I-yes, I alone- will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.” The Psalmist wrote that God “has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). So as the forgiver, you must do the same for the forgivee.

God can and will use difficult points in a relationship to create fertile ground of forgiveness. As Proverbs 17:9 promises, love will then prosper and grow. God knows how difficult it is for us to forgive sometimes. Ask Him to help create a fertile ground of pardon so that your love can grow.
Peace,
Your SAM, Wendy