Thursday, October 24, 2013

Joy instead of poison - Forgiveness instead of revenge gets me further


Joy instead of poison
(2410130701-0724,2410131750-1806)

For quite some time now
I have been having
an interesting experience
over and over again:

I have decided
to take God’s word literally
and in a conflict
counter evil with good.

In doing that I noticed
it is much more fun
to forgive the other person
rather than hold onto my anger
about the situation.

The strength that I need
to remain calm in a conflict
and to be gracious with the other person
is God’s gift at that moment,
because in my own strength
I am not capable of it.

But if I focus on God
in times of distress,
instead of letting my rage run freely,
it is much easier
to be gracious
and keep calm.

For years I did not understand
this secret
and my heart was filled with poison.
The most joy I had
came from planning my revenge.
My heart grew colder and colder
and always got harder.
It only took a spark
for me to explode.
I was ruled
by my unwillingness to forgive
more and more.
By that I made hell of my own life
and my surroundings.

True joy had been lacking
for a long time.
I have left behind the time
of inner peace long ago
because I have been constantly occupied
by my being right
and planning revenge.
That all had the effect of poison in me
that slowly but surely
stole my whole life.

Today I am thankful
that I can take God at his word
because he has given me
a new heart attitude.
Now I can feel true joy again.
Now I have peace again.
When the other person
does not act correctly towards me,
it is their problem
and I do not have to make it my own.


Theme:   Forgiveness instead of revenge gets me further


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