More on “Don’t forgive and forget" (you can’t anyway), but “Forgive and Rewrite.”
Three examples from my own life. First a dramatic one.
While working in a foreign country, one my disciples turned me into the police, along with other believers. We were all arrested, and put on trial with the threat of a 7 year prison sentence for sharing our faith.
In this I forgave my wayward disciple. Then as the Lord has taught me to do, I thanked him for the situation and for what He was doing, although I did not know his plan yet. In the end, And when the trial finally came, the prosecuting attorney declared that we had done nothing wrong and had a legal right to share our faith. That decision ushered in a decade of freedom to share the gospel widely. God had a plan!
Second a very mundane one. Recently in an application for permission for a project, the bureaucracy put some big requirements on me, ones I felt were unjustified. But again, I forgave them, thanked ‘God for it, remembering that He always has a plan. In complying with the demands, three good things resulted: I met a man who came to the Lord, another fellow heard the gospel clearly, and I ran into two of my high school friends and shared the gospel with them, too. All of this would not have happened if the “unjust demands” had not been placed on me!
Third was a very painful one. Over many years a relative did many damaging things to me and my family. Remembering the ways that in the past God had worked good through difficulties, I forgave him, thanking God for this situation. We asked for wisdom in how to respond and prayed for God to work. Then this relative ended up in a difficult situation and we were able to help him. This then eventually led to a restored relationship and in the end he became my best friend!
To forgive and rewrite frees us to be the instrument of good to all those around us. Remember the steps of this:
1) forgive your offender in obedience to God. Col 3:13
2) Remind yourself that God has a plan in this, laying out the course for us. Heb. 12:1 James 1:2-4
3) offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, which honors God and opens the way for Him to show you His salvation. Psalm 50:23
4) Affirm your trust in God, remembering that He always has a purpose which you may not see yet. Psalm 23:6
5) Remember how he has worked out things for you in the past. Psalm 143:4,5
6) Ask Him to give you wisdom and insight in this situation. James 1:5
Picture: forgive as you have been forgiven, knowing God is at work.