When Really Good Friends Hurt You (Part 2)

Yesterday I was sharing with you about a past hurt that had resurfaced earlier this week. Once again, I found myself taking my broken heart back to God and asking Him to mend it for me.

O.k. Lord, what am I suppose to do with this now?

I thought this situation was all behind me.

Will I feel this pit in my stomach every time I hear that person's name mentioned?

I don't want to hold a grudge - it makes me weary.

I don't want to be angry - it's too stressful.

What should I do?

As I sat very still and tried to quiet my thoughts, almost straining to hear God speak to me (not in an audible voice but a sensing in my heart or a thought that is placed into my mind which lines up with His Word or His character), I was reminded of Peter's conversation with God in Matthew 18. It says...

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me, seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times but seventy-seven times".

I had read this passage so many times before but today I gleaned something new from it. I realized that maybe when God said "seventy-seven times" he was referring to those moments when the original hurt would resurface in your mind... days later, weeks later, months later, years later. Each time that wounded memory would show up again, my part would be to forgive that person all over again.

So that's exactly what I did! As I quietly forgave the person who had hurt me, such a peace came over me that I couldn't help but smile. If God was willing to extend grace to me each day for all the things I had done which hurt Him deeply, who am I to hold a grudge against anyone else?