02/16/2012
Today's devotion comes from "Teen Daily Devotional Ministry"
www.tddm.org
Cutting It Loose
Author: TDDM Steve
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)
Can you imagine waking up one day without ever having been hurt by someone, lied to, talked badly about, made fun of or betrayed? Can you imagine the love you would be able to have if you had never been hurt? It would probably only last for one day before someone else would start the cycle all over again. Sin separates people so quickly and easily. People are so quick to hurt each other.
We can live a day like that everyday when we start praying part of the above scripture to God and remember its purpose for ourselves. "Father, today I will forget the betrayal that is behind and press on toward the goal. Today is a new day and I will settle things in my heart as if no one has ever hurt me before." This is a real prayer and it really works. It's not in the wording, it's in the heart-conditioning. We have to take an inventory of all the past hurts and then forgive each one in our mind and in our heart. This is part of the process of "forgetting." Then we work with all of our energy to press toward the goal, which helps the hurts to stay gone. This is part of my daily prayer regimen and is something I have to consciously do each morning. When I don't, the evil one loves to remind me of them.
Past hurts are past hurts. Holding on to them will just weigh us down and hurt us, although the people who hurt us never give it a second thought. It's garbage we need to throw away. It may be tempting to say "I'll forgive but I won't forget," but that is not how God forgives us of our sins against Him. He forgives and He forgets; so should we. Remember, Jesus died for our sins- meaning that we share responsibility in His death. We are just as guilty for the death of Jesus as the men who drove the nails in His hands and feet. If God can forgive us for killing His Son, we can forgive someone else for simply betraying us.
This is a life-changing art. Ask God today to point out all of the hurts you are carrying. Then forgive and pray for each person who hurt you. You can't hate someone and truly pray for them at the same time. It's time to cut it loose, so we can press on toward the goal. Cut it loose today.
Tddm.org- Teen Daily Devotional Ministry - teendevotionals.org
