Glancing up at the sun, Beto (a made-up name) quickened his already hurried pace as he approached the forest. He knew that he would need to hurry if he wanted to make it through the forest before dark. Large wildcats were known to roam in the surrounding mountains, and many were the terrifying stories of these cats attacking people in this very forest!
Entering the cool shade of the forest, Beto paused just long enough for a refreshing drink of water from the creek that meandered across the footpath.
Several hours later, as he pushed wearily onward, Beto rounded a bend in the trail and, thinking he saw a movement in the bushes ahead, stopped abruptly. In the gathering darkness Beto watched as, not thirty paces before him, the dreaded beast he so tremendously feared crept out of the bushes and turned to face him! Turning, Beto fled for his life! Hearing the padding of the wildcat’s enormous paws on the forest floor behind him, Beto tried to pump his tired legs even faster. Suddenly, not being able to see the path clearly in the darkness of the forest, Beto tripped on a vine and sprawled helplessly onto the ground. Weeping bitterly, Beto concluded that it was useless to continue trying, so he lay on the ground, waiting for the inevitable. As he waited, he imagined that he could hear the sound of the wildcat moving in closer, closer, closer…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Are you feeling a bit like Beto? Is there a big “something” inflicting pain in your life and you’re trying to get away from it? Maybe your friends have forsaken you or a brother or sister has slandered you. Maybe someone you highly respected has trampled over you or you are experiencing difficult situations in your family. Maybe you are experiencing something painful that no one else knows about and all that others see is your “smiling” exterior, never realizing the pain you’re feeling inside. Whatever it is that you’re dealing with, have you, like Beto, concluded that it’s useless to keep trying?
At times we experience painful situations that cause us to feel like giving up. We naturally hate pain and do our best to avoid it. Still, we meet up with some of those hard things of life. We don’t want to nurse an attitude of self-pity, going through life with an “I am a victim” mentality. It would be foolish, however, to assume that there is no such thing as a victim. Sometimes people commit sins against each other. There are times when we find ourselves victims of circumstances over which we have no control.
Situations like this are painful and confusing, sometimes causing us to feel like just throwing up our hands in despair. How do we go from feeling like poor victims to being …more than conquerors through him that loved us –Romans 8:37?
Let’s take a look at a few things that we must understand if we are to overcome these battles and continue to thrive spiritually…
…Unreserved surrender
We must understand the importance of unreserved surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that we are willing to serve Him for the rest of our life, no matter what the cost. We need to be aware that we will face difficulties in life (1 Peter 4:12,13). Being Christians does not give us a trial-free life. Living the life of a Christian does in fact, often bring hardships of its own. Why, then, does Jesus teach that His yoke is easy and His burden light?—…For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light –Matthew 11:28-30. The answer… Because He is willing to help us bear our burdens, we don’t need to do it alone! If we are willing to serve the Lord only in good times, then we will soon feel like giving up when we meet hardship.
…Forgiveness
Usually, when we experience a difficult situation, other people are involved in some way. Sometimes hot words are exchanged, or evil action is taken, and people end up hurting each other. When we’ve been wronged, we know that we should forgive the person who wronged us, yet we hesitate, because we’d really like to see justice carried out. We fear that if we forgive the other person, then we will set him or her free before they realize how wrong they were, so we choose unforgiveness!
Unforgiveness always leads to bitterness; bitterness always shackles us. Always! Bitterness often brings with it a host of other sins and causes much trouble for us and for others. (Hebrews 12:14-17) However, when we choose to forgive others, God will also forgive us (Mark 11:25,26), setting us free from the awful mess that bitterness creates in our lives. We no longer need to worry about holding the offender captive. After all, he or she is not in bondage to us. We cannot choose whether or not they will be set free. Only the Lord has the power to set someone free.
We must understand what forgiveness is or else we will find ourselves wondering whether or not we have forgiven. Following are three points that will help us understand what it really means to forgive:
1. Accept it
Sometimes we face difficulties as the result of our own choices and sometimes as the result of other people’s choices. When other people make choices that cause pain in our life we have a hard time accepting it. We may try to fight this pain in an effort to remove it from our life, or we may try to run away from it in an effort to escape its dreadful reality. We may put up a “tough” facade to try to make others believe it’s really not so bad when in reality it just plain hurts! While these reactions come naturally, we won’t find relief until we’ve come to a place of acceptance. To accept it doesn’t mean to do nothing about it but, rather, to realize that sometimes God allows painful situations in life to help us grow. (James 1:2-4) It means to trust the Lord instead of trying to figure things out on our own. (Proverbs 3:4,5) It also means to admit that we’ve been hurt and that we need God to help us heal.
2. Let it go
What’s the quickest way to get rid of something you no longer want? Give it away! That’s exactly what we must do with those painful burdens we sometimes find ourselves carrying. Give them to God. (1 Peter 5:6,7) It is very important, when we give our burdens to God, that we leave them there. We would feel very foolish taking a load of garbage to the local landfill, and then turning around and taking it all back home without dumping it! None of us would even consider doing such a thing. Yet, when we bring a burden to the Lord, we sometimes go through a formal ritual of telling God about it but never letting it go.
How do you let go of something that has become so much a part of you and is so painful that you can think of little else? A good place to start is to find a stable believer with whom you can comfortably converse and talk with about it. Even more importantly, talk with God about it. (Hebrews 4:14-16) It doesn’t matter if you find a place to be alone with God or if you find someone to pray with you. What really matters is to find a place where you can get on your knees and tell the Lord exactly how you are feeling. You can tell Him that you feel you were treated unjustly. You can tell Him all about the pain, the confusion and the feelings of hatred and revenge that you are feeling. Make a point of telling God that you choose to forgive the offender. Be specific, mentioning the name of the offender and specific situations. This can be very painful because it brings fresh memories of difficult situations. It is a time of soul searching, forgiving, and letting go. Stay on your knees until you are at peace about the situation. It doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as you get rid of that awful burden—try to not be mindful of the time. Be assured that God never ignores a plea for help! (1Peter 3:12)
3. Love your enemies
Jesus commands us to love our enemies. (Matthew 5:43-48) When we have forgiven, we will genuinely love the offender the way that God loves them. According to human reasoning, this isn’t possible. It’s the miracle of a changed heart that causes us to love someone we once hated.
…Worship the Lord
Often, we don’t feel like worshiping the Lord in the middle of a trial but why should we quit worshiping Him when we need Him the most? (Philippians 4:4-7) We ought to at least think of some things for which to be thankful, then thank God for them. In Acts 16, we read an account of Paul and Silas preaching in Philippi. After they had healed a demon-possessed girl they were severely beaten by the local authorities, secured in stocks, and locked in prison. Their situation must surely have felt hopeless. They were in pain, they couldn’t move, and it was night. It probably felt like a dark time in their lives. In spite of all this, they prayed and sang praises to God! They were living lives of unreserved surrender to a God Whom they loved and trusted. In the end, God chose to miraculously deliver them.
Praising God in the middle of trials is only possible when Christ is reigning in our lives.
…Move forward
When we experience difficulties there are always things we can learn. We learn the importance of complete dependence on and unconditional surrender to the Lord. We experience, at a personal level, the comfort of God and we are called to reach out to other troubled souls with this comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:1-7)
Dear friends, remember, the next time the cares of life make you feel like giving up, bring your burden to the Lord, put it all in His hands, and let it go!
