Faith traded in her anger for a life of forgiveness
@faithtood
These past couple of months have been really challenging for me. I was in the Forgiveness 9:15 Connection Class for the last 6 weeks. Many issues were addressed, among them what it truly means to forgive- the question being “Do I want to get well,” and am I willing to take the step of obedience with forgiveness so that I might grow closer to Christ.
After about the 3rd time of hearing the verse out of Epheshians 4:30-32 I realized what the Lord was trying to say to me. The verse starts out with “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” After realizing the way I had been grieving the Holy Spirit with my unforgiveness of multiple people in the past, I couldn’t function anymore.
I was paralyzed with Truth that I ignored.
I ignored it because I did not want to deal with it. T
his is evidence of the disobedience in my heart.
As a result of disobedience in the area of unforgivness, roots of bitterness began to grow in my life which led to anger. Anger was one major thing I struggled with a great deal before becoming a believer.
I began putting on a mask that read, “I’m fine on the outside”,
but in reality on the inside I was a wreck. I began to feel like a person that was not the reflection of Christ.
The following verses were used to get me: 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 talks about being an Ambassador for Christ and being reconciled to Him; Ephesians 4:32 it says,”Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you,’; and Galatians 5:22 talks about character…none of these qualities was I exhibiting. I was challenged with my priorities and more deeply my integrity in Christ. I began to pray one of my favorite verses, Psalm 139: 23-24, “Search me, oh God,and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Note to self, when praying this, be prepared for God to rock your world.)
After lots of time praying this I felt like it was time to deal face to face with the unforgiveness I had allowed to pile up in my life. I began seeking forgiveness for things I had done from people and God, and forgiving those who I had not forgiven. This was no easy task, some of it involved facing demons from my past which lead to distrust in people,
but God’s grace and mercy
became so clear and almost tangible in each situation of addressing my the offenses in my life.
Talk about experiencing a battle of the flesh and the Spirit. My flesh was saying, “Dont show mercy- its weakness, be mad they hurt you, they dont deserve your forgiveness” and the Spirit was saying, “Forgive as I have forgiven you, love because I first loved you.” I began to experience healing, grace and mercy in new ways that I had never really experienced before.
More of Faith’s story will be told in the weeks to come. Do you have a story of what God has been doing in your life as a result of the truths that you’ve discovered? Let us know!
Would you like more information about our 9:15 Connection Classes which focus on discovering the truth for yourself? If so, fill out the contact form.
The resources used was an inductive study on the topic of forgiveness; click here to find out more about this resource and other inductive studies visit
February 16th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Thanks Faith for sharing something so personal, yet something that all of us have dealt with. Yea for not only listening to the Word but for living it out with action. You set a great example in our class and have been a joy to have around!
February 17th, 2010 at 4:27 am
Faith, thank you so much for your testimony. God uses our personal testimonies to build up, strengthen and encourage others and to demonstrate His power and grace in the lives of His children. Sharing your story was a great encouragement to me.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:31 am
You may not know the back story to your testimony, but I want to share some of it with you. The writing of this study took 2 years from start to finish. The enemy did not want it written and used many people and obstacles to try to prevent it from being published. I knew it had the potential to transform the lives of those who applied the truths they learned from this study because they transformed me.
I believe unforgiveness is one of the greatest obstacles in a believer's life, it is what destroys people, families and churches and communities. I also know forgiveness can bring unity where there was disunity, healing where there was brokeness, life where there was death.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:32 am
Sometimes when one walks in obedience to God's leading in their life, they have no idea if they are making an impact on the lives of others or not. Working in isolation often is fertile ground for the enemy to sow seeds of discouragement and doubt. Your testimony discredits all of the taunts of the enemy and destroys those roots of discouragement and doubt. Thank you for your courage to be transparent and your example of obedience to the Truth you saw in God's word. You have blessed me and encouraged me to continue following the plan God has for me at this time in my life.
May God continue to bless and strengthen you as you study His word and live it out in your life and are tansformed into the image of His Son.
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 am
Praying that God takes the story and awakens others. Thanks for being used to cultivate biblical community, Faith!