Forgiveness

Yep I'm writing on it again, because its something I have to revisit often. And when a song comes along that inspires me to press on...I wanna share it with the world.  Here it is "Drops in the Ocean" by Hawk Nelson, please go to YouTube and have a listen:

I want you as you are, not as you ought to be
Won't you lay down your guard and come to me
The shame that grips you now is crippling
It breaks my heart to see you suffering

Cause I am for you
I'm not against you

If you want to know
How far my love can go
Just how deep, just how wide
If you want to see 
How much you mean to me
Look at my hands, look at my side
If you could count the times I say you are forgiven
It's more than the drops in the ocean

Don't think you need to settle for a substitute 
When I'm the only love that changes you

Open your heart
It's time that we start again

Do you get stuck?  I get stuck. I get tangled up in the mess of my pain, the offense, the rejection, the betrayal.  Satan knows that and he uses it to pull me down, keep me bitter and separated.  Rolling around in my self-pity, doubt and despair.  Yuck!

When I heard this song, I played it several times over and over imaging the huge waves in the middle of the ocean, the beautiful deep blue.  Just how many drops? More than my mind can grasp. The song was inspired by Micah 7:19 "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

Isn't that amazing?  More than I can fathom.  As far as the east is from the west (another great song too, by Casting Crowns).  I can't grasp that amount or that distance!

But I can rest in knowing that it is TRUE! I can rejoice that even though its more than I can comprehend he loves me THAT much! You too!

And its there...when I am called to forgive...that I have to pause and remember what my Father has done for me. Daily surrender my human fleshly desire to stay mad and grab ahold to my Christlike ability to forgive.  It is Christlike and only possible with Him living through me, because on my own...IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.  On my own its ugly. But with Christ all things really are possible...even undeserved forgiveness.

Are you there...needing to forgive?  Surely I am not alone. Is it hard for you too? Its a two part process.  I have to accept that forgiveness from my Father for myself and rest in it; before I can even begin to extend it. It is a daily process for me. I don't want to be stuck in the ugly.  I want to live in the freedom of Jesus Christ and ALL He has to offer.

Have a Blessed Monday!

PS: Just another little note that has blessed me this week.  Its from Linda Dillow's book "Calm My Anxious Heart."   "Abiding is our obligation.  Producing fruit is God's concern.  Seek fellowship with Jesus and leave the fruit to him."