A Lifestyle of ForgivenessSample

DAY ONE – THE LITTLE THINGS

Today you may have a specific person in mind that you need to forgive. Some of us have had very painful things happen to us — even a long time ago — that need to be forgiven. Forgiveness is truly freedom for our hearts, and peace for our soul. 

But aside from being able to forgive and put major issues behind us, I’m hoping that we can all get better at living a lifestyle of forgiveness. You know, where nothing bothers us, where small (and even large) offenses can just roll off us like water off a duck’s back. I think that sounds like a life of peace, don’t you? 

So many things happen to us in a day, and it seems like there are just a lot of opportunities to be irritated, get mad, get even, or hold a grudge. It’s not always the big things, but the little annoyances that get us reacting in the flesh, stealing our peace, and possibly clogging our blessing pipe. The Bible says it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine (Song 2:15). 

We live in a society that is quick to blame, quick to get angry or feel put upon, and quick to vent when things don’t go our way. If you think about it, that’s really the opposite of the way God wants us to live. He wants us to live in peace and shine the light of His love to others. He wants us to be long suffering, patient and kind to each other, just as He is to us. 

What if we determined to let the little annoyances of every day just pass us by, and learn to be quick forgivers? What if we stopped sweating the small stuff and forgave everyone who didn’t deserve it? I think our lives would be filled with peace, and we could have a much greater impact on the people around us.