Cool that sting

Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting. (William Arthur Ward)

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9)

Too many times, we hold onto things we should let go of and let go of things we should have held tight to. We don't realize just how much those things we should have let go of instead of latching onto them have really added a weight to our lives. For a long, long time, others tried to tell me unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness were hurting me, but they did very little, if anything to hurt the other individual. At a certain point, God spoke into my spirit, and he encouraged me to set myself free by letting the one's I held in that place of unforgiveness be free. It seemed counter to what I expected - God telling me I could be free by letting them be free. Holding them captive in a place of unforgiveness in my heart and mind was not bringing them hardship - it was bringing it to me, day after day, until I finally let them go. 

There is a principle in scripture that God handles the 'vengeance' part of a wrong done to his children, but it takes a while for our hearts and minds to really lay hold of that wisdom at times. Vengeance is a punishment we try to inflict upon another because of a wrong they have done to us. It seems only natural to respond with some form of 'punishment' when someone has inflicted some type of physical, emotional, or relational injury, doesn't it? That is the problem - we aren't asked to respond or react to the wrong in our 'natural' ability. God asks us to lean into his supernatural ability and trust him to 'make right' what another has 'made wrong'. Easier said than done! All of our hackles are up, and we want to strike out, but he tells us to settle into the peace and love he gives us, extending grace where grace is not deserved. 

I like what Ward said, "It warms the heart and cools the sting." I have been stung by bees, wasps, mosquitos, and probably a few other insects in my days. There is something weird about 'blowing' on that sting - it soothes it a bit. Maybe what God is asking us to do is to allow the 'breath' of his Spirit to wash over that 'sting' until it is soothed and calmed. The more we lean into his grace in our own lives, the more we will find there is no better response to an offense than to let it go. To hold another 'responsible' for the wrong done by holding onto the offense gets us nowhere. To let that offense go into the hands of Jesus, trusting him with the outcome, and then to be free of the anger, hurt, and potential bitterness it would cause us isn't always easy, but it is the best thing we can do for ourselves. Just sayin!