Forgiveness is a decision. Through His Son Jesus, God forgives us and so we need to forgive others. And we do. But forgiving someone is not the always the same as “feeling better”.
Anger that seems justified is hard to work through. Sometimes someone really hurts us. And it seems unfair, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need to. Pain and anger take up valuable space in our brain and in our heart. And they waste our time. They have to go 🙂
And there is something else that pain and anger do to us that is really dangerous: They can harden our heart!
So what can we do with our hurt feelings when they seem so justified?
I can only share what I do with mine. I can’t change some of those feelings myself. I can’t always “make myself feel better”. So I ask God to change my feelings for me. Too soften my heart and to give me compassion for the person who hurt me. I ask Jesus to help me and I ask the Holy Spirit to fill my heart. And I ask Mary to pray for me.
And I try to think about the person who hurt me. Perhaps someone hurt them or perhaps it was just a really bad time in their life. Perhaps they don’t know Jesus yet. Or perhaps they are suffering themselves. The list of why good people do bad things is endless…
We’ve all been there and we thank God that Jesus came to Save us from our sins!
Asking God to help us with our feelings works and it’s a prayer that God is happy to answer. Sometimes it can take a bit, but it always works.
Try it, God will answer. Be the Light ?