2025-09-05
Good morning, Dear Ones,
Last week, the Holy Spirit was directing me to write about mercy and forgiveness. This week, the subject will be trying to answer the question: “What should we do when our forgiveness is rejected?” The first step is found in RO 12: 18, “Do all you can to live in peace with everyone.” However, there are times when forgiveness offered is rejected. We must understand our own humanity and that of others. Expecting perfection in their responses all the time is not being realistic. A good first response to such rejection is to examine the situation to see if there have been any misunderstandings. If so, we should do what we can to clarify the issue. This is best done after the emotions of the moment have died down.
If the issue is clear, then we must have faith in the power of forgiveness. Remember, God is a forgiving Being. IS 43: 25 (God speaking), “I, even I, am He Who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Trusting God, if you are faithfully obeying His teaching, is the right thing to do. Sometimes time elapsed can help. Other times it isn’t possible to bring peace between ourselves and our rejectors. PR 24: 15-16 addresses this situation. “Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place; for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
It is essential that one forgives himself when forgiveness offered is rejected by another. Prayer is quite necessary in such a situation. MK 11: 24-25, “Therefore, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. When you stand praying and your hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you your sins.” PHIL 3: 13-14 [Paul writing], “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” These things are not said in callousness but in utter humility.
As long as our hearts are in the right with the Lord, He is willing not only to forgive our sins but also to forget them. Giving us a way out of the marketplace of sin is the most important reason, Christ sacrificed his physical life on the cross [HE 10: 10]. We are covenant partners with a Lord Who gives us this assurance that His sacrifice was once for all, in HE 10: 16-17, “This is the covenant I will make with them (those who believe in Him) after that time (when His enemies are made His footstool), says the Lord. ‘I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then He adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’” By no means does this imply we can continue sins we have genuinely confessed. It does mean that we shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we have done all we can to keep the peace, and it doesn’t work.
God is eager for us to regularly visit the shelter beneath His wings [PS 91: 1-2]. Trusting a God one can’t see in human form (now that Christ has been crucified) isn’t easy to do. But trust in Him we must! Our reasons for these frequent “visits” are three-fold. 1) We go to Him in prayer with our concerns, and 2) we go to listen to Him direct us, through the Holy Spirit, about what we should do. There is also a third reason, one I’ve experienced myself. 3) We listen for His teaching to help us understand difficult issues. This third reason is why I always try to supply my students with cross-references. God is the best at explaining Himself. Of course, there are other references one can use as well. Having mercy and forgiveness for the shortcomings of others allows for a greater chance of peace—certainly with oneself and also with another.
PRAYER: O Lord how loved we should feel in the knowledge that You are here for us and listen to all our prayers! We must accept our imperfections, clarify our communications with You and others, try to keep the peace, and not let our emotional humanness control a difficult situation. All these things matter when we find our forgiveness rejected. PS 34: 18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
You know everything we try to do to keep the peace. And, if we have done all we can, You direct us to forgive ourselves for the situation, to move forward in our efforts to faithfully obey You. You are a loving, forgiving, and merciful God, Who deserves our loyalty, praise, willingness to appeal to You regularly, and our thanksgiving for all You are and all You do. We do all these things in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Learning how to forgive ourselves when we’ve done all we can to keep the peace will be the main topic of next week’s devotion. In the meanwhile, we can meditate on PR 11: 2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” With this meditation we can put it in the context of 1 PET 5: 7, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” We can find these considerations wholly useful and keeping us with God’s perspective always in mind. Our loving God is worth taking His divine advice. Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace Be with You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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