Live Free with Josh Howerton - Forgiveness Over Getting Even | Ep. 31 | Monday March 20, 2023

Episode Date: March 20, 2023

Forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things to do in life. Before you place the people or situations that hurt you into the hands of God, you come up with excuses for why they don’t deserve forgiveness. In this episode, Pastor Mike discusses the magnitude in which God forgave you and encourages you to keep that in mind as you face even the toughest circumstances. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, welcome to our podcast, wherever you are today, whatever you're doing. Thanks for just taking a few minutes to focus on the love of God and the life that he's offered all of us. My name is Mike Bro, and we've been talking in recent days about just being built different.

You know, they say that about automobiles and architecture and athletes. They go, man, they're just, I don't know, just built different. We've been talking about how God wants people to look at our lives and say the same thing, so that our lives throw a floodlight on the amazing way that God can take like anybody's life. and totally transform it. We've been hanging in a book of the Bible called Romans chapter 12, which gives a description of what a different kind of life looks like. Instead of just saying to us, be different,

God says, humble yourself, cooperate with me, work on changing the way you think, and I'll do the transformation, just in case you're wondering what a transformed different kind of life looks like, here you go. And he gives a description of that. And we're all the way down to verse number 18. and this is what he says. If it is possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at peace with everyone.

And you know what? Sometimes it's not possible. And sometimes it does not depend upon you. We can't control other people react or act. But we can control our actions and our reactions. This verse is saying that conflict is inevitable. But don't you be the reason it continues. Don't you be the reason that it never, ever healed?

You know, over the past few years, there's been a lot of relational stress fractures, families, friendships, churches, lots of people acting nothing like the list that we've been working through in recent days. And as a result, a whole lot of tension and disunity and dissonance and befriending and canceling of each other, there's healing needed. There's forgiveness needed. There's reconciliation needed. Now, reconciliation takes two willing parties, and it's not always possible. But you know what? forgiveness, it takes only one willing party, and it always is possible. I'm going to date myself a little bit, but I used to watch this old TV show sitcom called the Andy Griffith Show.

Anybody remember this show shot in Mayberry? He's still on and see it pop on those classic television channels and some black and white. My grandkids actually have watched every single episode in black and white. They love it. Maybe you're too young to remember it, but when I would watch it, one of my favorite characters with this guy named Otis. Otis was the self-described town drunk and he would stop by the sheriff's office on a regular basis

walk right into a cell, lock himself in for the night to kind of sleep it off. And the funny thing to me I thought was that they would hang the keys right up where he could just reach out and grab them. He could leave at any time. And I resonate with Otis because, man, I've been Otis. Sometimes I've been so comfortable in my cell

that I've forgotten that any time I could walk out and be free. Listen, one of the things that keeps you and me locked up is this thing called bitterness. When you get honest with yourself and you take a fearless moral inventory and you find that a lot of the emotion, a lot of the pain, a lot, the regret, the remorse, the anger, the disappointment, the guilt, the shame in your life stems from your interaction with you guessed at people. And our responsibility, Paul says, as far as it depends upon us, is to do our part to make things right with you guessed it, people. Maybe it's time to make amends or seek forgiveness from those

you've hurt and forgive those who have hurt you. Neither one of those things are easy. You might need to, as I've done in my life, make an amends list. You might even take a road trip and have a meeting with somebody. I've had to make some embarrassing phone calls in my life. I've had to stand before tombstones and apologize.

I've had to stand before people in my shame and just wear it, exposed and broken, and ask them to release me from the debt that I owe them. But you know what was amazing? In those moments, it was like chains were broken. And I started seeing the people who I were making amends to in a whole new way. And it was powerful. And even though it is freeing and powerful, it's important to point out that this is an act of humility.

It's about doing whatever your part is to make things right with other people. It's about you. It's about them hearing you own your stuff. It's not about getting anything in return. You just do it even if they don't forgive you, even if you can't. make all things right, even if it doesn't fix the relationship or make everything's better. Everything better. Remember, as far as it depends upon you, you just choose to humbly do it because it's the right thing to do. And the sheer act of it begins to set you free. I'm going

a little longer today. I'm just going to warn you. Because there's another kind of amends that's important and powerful. And it's learning to forgive those who have hurt me. You're going, well, I hear you, bro, but man, they owe me. Come on. They owe me. My parents, they hurt me bad. They owe me. Those kids at school owe me. My brother owes me. That old girlfriend owes me. That ex-spouse owes me. If I let them off the hook, it wouldn't be fair. They need to pay. Whenever I start feeling that way, I go to that Colossians chapter 3. It says, make allowances for each other's false and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. You see, we owed God. And aren't you glad he didn't give us fair? He gave us a son. And he paid the debt that our sins had racked

so I must forgive others. I have to make amends. But our human nature rears this ugly head, and we cry out for justice and retribution. We get an adrenaline rush watching those movies where the really evil guy gets the payback. We're easily deceived into thinking that true release, true freedom lies in revenge.

But I've learned the hard way that it doesn't. It's a lie that our enemy feeds us, and it's a lie that keeps us from getting well. In fact, if you do little cost-benefit analysis of bitterness, you would find that there is enormous cost and zero, zero benefit. It wrecks you physically, emotionally, spiritually. It's been my experience, and research backs up this assertion that a lot of people are sick or stay sick because of unresolved bitterness in their lives.

You see, it's not so much what you eat, but what eats you? That'll kill you. And I've watched way too many people who refuse to let go with the relational scars and wounds. They won't give up their right to get even. They can't let go of the past, and bitterness literally eats them alive. The book of Job says, some people stay healthy until the day they die. They die happy and at ease. Their body's well-nourished.

Others have no happiness at all. They live and die with bitter hearts. And, gang, that's a lousy way to live and die. So if it is possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at peace with everybody. In fact, your peace depends upon it. Okay, sorry, I went way past my time today. and this one's too important to cut short. I got a few more things I want to say about forgiveness.

I promise I won't talk so long next episode. So come back and let's continue right here where we left off. Have a great rest of your day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time.

Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out. For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe.combe. Church slash daily drive.