Yesterday in our worship service we heard, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19) Sometimes the affliction can be so grievous, that when we are delivered, just living each day can be overwhelming. Then we must be able to forgive those who’ve hurt us.
In her book, Left to Tell, Immaculee Ilibagiza survived the 1994 Rwanda genocide by hiding ninety days in a small bathroom with seven other women. The women were Tutsi, Rwanda’s educated minority, and they were hunted by the majority Hutu people during the Rwanda rebellion. Immaculee’s parents and brothers were hacked to death along with nine hundred thousand others who died during that terrible tribal war.
Amazingly, it was a Hutu pastor who hid the eight Tutsi women in his home, and his own adult children did not know they were there. Immaculee survived those terrible days on minimul food and constant prayer. Emerging from her tiny cell, she weighed only sixty-five pounds.
When brought face-to-face with the Hutus who murdered her family, she forgave them. A Tutsi officer handed her a gun to kill them, but she would not even curse them or spit on them. She said she would rather forgive them because she did not want her bitterness toward them to hinder her from living the rest of her life.
Immaculee said it was her Savior Who gave her the ability to forgive them and move past her terrible afflictions. Her constant prayers led her to see Jesus at work in her life. She knew she was also a sinful person, but God showed her the value of faith and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit helped her triumph over her afflictions and move forward in life.
When we forgive others, we first are blessed. Forgiveness releases us from the pain of the past. It is a blessing from God that goes both ways.
Amazingly, it was a Hutu pastor who hid the eight Tutsi women in his home, and his own adult children did not know they were there. Immaculee survived those terrible days on minimul food and constant prayer. Emerging from her tiny cell, she weighed only sixty-five pounds.
When brought face-to-face with the Hutus who murdered her family, she forgave them. A Tutsi officer handed her a gun to kill them, but she would not even curse them or spit on them. She said she would rather forgive them because she did not want her bitterness toward them to hinder her from living the rest of her life.
Immaculee said it was her Savior Who gave her the ability to forgive them and move past her terrible afflictions. Her constant prayers led her to see Jesus at work in her life. She knew she was also a sinful person, but God showed her the value of faith and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit helped her triumph over her afflictions and move forward in life.
When we forgive others, we first are blessed. Forgiveness releases us from the pain of the past. It is a blessing from God that goes both ways.
Could you have forgiven as Immaculee did?
Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com
Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com
No comments:
Post a Comment