The Lord has been my Rock in times of trouble. I am so very blithesome as well as sure footed in Him. "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a NEW SONG in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:1-3
This Psalm comes during a time when the heart is heavy. I have been crying out to him it seems like daily for roughly almost three and a half months. How? Who? What? Where? When? Details are not important - but God is! Yes Patiently - slowly yet eagerly I await his strength. To strengthen me to not become short sighted and not start the seed of unforgiveness. When we begin the road of unforgiveness it begins the bondage of grudges. So many things, so many stresses, all taking place in the same span of T - I - M - E. My knees - oh how my knees have felt the sting of pain through Love in the recesses of the deepest innermost part of my soul. The feeling of being in a pit. Where there can be JOY even in sorrow and or times of trouble; as well as taking steps that require true FAITH. The stability to rest in His arms.
Beth Moore explained it wonderfully, "The Greek work translated 'nursed a grudge against' in Mark 6:19 means ' to hold on, endure . . .Metaphorically, to be held in or by anything; to be entangled in something, be enmeshed, to be subject to.' . . . Our grudges only work to further entangle and enmesh us with the persons we won't forgive. How ironic! When we won't forgive, the people we often want to be around LEAST because they've hurt us so badly are the very people we take with us emotionally everywhere we go." She also mentioned that "Forgiveness is not passivity, . . . It is power. The ability to withstand the pressing, quaking gates of hell. Take this power and wield it."
"The Christian experience teams with so many paradoxes. Among them is the fact that it takes far more strength and personal fortitude to fall on our knees and submit to God than to stand and fight our endless battles for significance. Nothing demands more elbow grease than thrusting your arms forward and giving God the solitary right to vengeance." The world is so lost and the only way for her to turn is our bended knees. God desires our submission of his perfect love manifested through us to reveal His full Glory. Therefore, are we willing to be the flesh to touch others through true forgiveness? It often begins in our homes, I know it is in mine lately.
