Devotional Day 1: Dealing With Pain Through Forgiveness

• Psalms 34:17-20 - "The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken."
• 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 : "Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."
• Pain is inevitable! At some point in our lives we will all feel pain, but its important that we don't avoid this pain or suffering, but control how we respond to it through the power of forgiveness. God is loving enough to listen to you and big enough to care for you in your pain.

     There are all different kinds of pain; disappointment, heartbreak, ect..  And along with that pain comes many ways of dealing with it. Forgiveness is the key to a majority of healing. Many times in life people will disappoint you or hurt your feelings. One thing to remember is that people aren't perfect; They aren't always going to act the way you want or expect. People make mistakes which is why its important to understand forgiveness. When you forgive someone that doesn't mean you discredit what they did. You have to hold that person accountable for the actions they have taken in order to help them on their path to becoming a better person. Tell them you've forgiven them! Not only does it lift a burden off your shoulders, but it gives the other person hope that even when they've done things they shouldn't have done, there are people out there caring enough to not hold a grudge and to understand they aren't perfect. God has forgiven us time and time again as individuals and as mankind. Our transgressions against Him have been many, yet He still loves us. He is still there for us in our time of need. We find comfort in him because we know that He holds us accountable for the people we should be, but forgives us when we stray from that path. Its important to understand that God doesn't want to control us in any way. He gave us free will for a reason. His word isn't there to tell you what you have to do or else! His word is there to guide us from hurting ourselves. Forgiveness is an important tool He has given us to utilize. Not only does is help relieve your pain, but relieves the pain of others. Negative emotions are powerful. Sometimes you feel hopeless; You feel there is no way to overcome the pain. To overcome this pain we have to understand the things God has given us to help ourselves!

                                                           QUESTIONS/APPLICATION

• What in your life could be causing you unnecessary pain? Perhaps there is someone you've been wanting to talk to...to forgive? Go for it!
• How do you think dealing with pain through forgiveness is healthy for you?
• What is your response to pain? How do you think you could handle it better?
• What are some Bible verses that comfort you in your time of pain?