I stayed behind like I normally have the last few months
while the congregation went to the table, but this day I felt a little push to
join them. I remained behind, but was
curious as to this new feeling in my heart.
It was Tuesday that I understood.
I had walked into the back office at work when I heard
his voice.
In the beginning of our time together, his presence lit
me like a fire. That fire quickly died,
leaving a tarnished stain on my heart. His later visits would invoke bitterness and a
deep ache. I grew to look forward to his
absence and beyond his occasional, fleeting presence.
And there he stood.
Like the charmer he is, my coworkers were captivated and completely
smitten with him.
And me?
I stood in the background and smiled.
I felt nothing.
No anger over his departure. No sadness over our past. No giddiness at his visit. Nothing.
Free, was all I
could think. Free!
Me—the girl who had changed, begged, pleaded, hoped,
perished, and settled—that me was
free.
And every day I find more value in life—in me.
Because God has taken these 61 days and He’s taken me from that dark
place and into the light, where I can bloom, where I can be free, where I can
love Him, and feel His love.
And know that I am worth
it. I am worth love. And because of
that love, forgiveness comes.
“…When you come to the cross, you realize that Christ has
died for what you have done…but you also realize that Christ has died for what’s
been done to you. Just as powerful as His death was for what
you have done is the power of His death for what has been done to you. So the New Testament says, ‘Be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, and forgive each other just as God in Christ has forgiven
you...’ This does not say, ‘Just going to
excuse that’…Forgiveness does not equal excusing. Forgiveness is a realization that Christ died
for my sins and your sins and some of your sins really hurt me bad, but I’m
choosing to forgive you, and allow judgment to be handled by God. Now if there’s anything that needs to be
settled between you and God I’m trusting God is going to settle it, and I’m not
going to spend the rest of my life holding hostility and bitterness, and
unforgiveness against you, because I want to meet someone…I want to be able to
walk into my relationship…and say, by the power of the cross and grace of God,
I am free from that.”—Louie Giglio, Passion City Church
