But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits. ~Psalm 5:11 (AMPCE)
Are you in high spirits today? When was the last time you sang and shouted for joy? Well, the Lord says do it always. You have assurance that God is preserving and protecting you and your interests. He has made a covering for you and defends you. Sometimes in life we get wounded. When you get a cut the first thing you are going to do is pay some attention to it, and that is good. But when we pay too much attention to our wounds, we tend to take our eyes off of God and then we begin to lose our joy. If the Lord promises to defend and avenge us, why are we trying to do it ourselves? Jesus didn’t! He said in Luke 23:34 “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” (NIV) When others mistreat us and use us and expect more from us than we feel we are capable of giving, we have to put ourselves into God’s keeping and walk in obedience to His word by staying in love. Scripture teaches love is patient and kind and keeps no record of wrongs. Do you keep a record of who has wronged you? When was the last time you repeated a matter that didn’t need to be repeated? That is keeping a record of wrong and unfortunately, we all are guilty of it. But that doesn’t mean we should wallow in our guilt and perpetuate it. The more sin we confess, the more freedom we have. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of keeping a record of a wrong, we need to be quick to agree and repent. Then when the opportunity arises to bring it up again, we are much less likely to take the bait because we have already admitted the truth that we should be walking in forgiveness and love.
Every day is a new day to “let bygones be bygones”. In modern terminology that means get over it! Jesus made it really simple by saying "forgive". We expect others to. Now it's our turn and we need to make it a habit. We are told in Psalm 5:11 “let those who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits.” (AMPCE) This isn’t going to happen if we are toting around a bunch of unforgiveness because that isn’t walking in love with God and man. Jesus was our great example. He even went as far as to say in John 14:9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (NIV) That was a hard pill for His disciples to swallow at first. But later, they learned to be led by the Holy Spirit and walk with God and became a great influence for their generation. It’s time we learn this lesson from our Lord. It’s time we let go of that sin that so easily trips us up. We do that by confessing where we are wrong and in moving forward, choosing to handle our lives the way the Lord expects us to. Everyone wants to be in high spirits and full of joy. But we can't do that if we are spending our time nursing old wounds. Put your trust in God, He is always watching over you and defending you. Don’t worry about how others act or if you have been mistreated. Go to God and ask Him to heal your heart. He is available 24/7!
Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. ~Psalm 121:4 (NIV)
How will you let bygones be bygones today?
Write an answer
Write an answer
Comments