How Can I Possibly Forgive? (Harvest House, 2014)
How Can I Possibly Forgive? Rescuing Your Heart from Resentment and Regret is that latest book by Sara Horn. Sara begins by stating that in order for us to appreciate the unconditional love God gives us and in turn asks us o give others, we need a better understanding of forgiveness. To achieve that understanding we need to identify the white noise in our life drowning out that the Lord wants us to hear. As Sara notes, “what distracts our hearts distracts our souls.” When we only see our pain, we cannot see God’s plan. Focusing on our pain leads to bitterness. We quickly can move from sadness to resentment and from denial to anger.
Bitterness, though, is not easy to hide. Eventually we expose ourselves and our soul feelings come out. Although we have big hurts, we have a bigger God. People and situations fail us, but God never fails us. Healing is a process, and forgiveness aids in that process. Forgiveness involves dealing with the really hard stuff that is more difficult to forgive, let go, or even think about and discuss. However, we are not left alone to figure out what to do- we have the Holy Spirit. With God’s help and grace, we can see His righteousness in our hearts and lives.
Sara emphasizes that full satisfaction cannot be reached when our goal ends in us. “What about me?” needs to change to “What about Him?”. While forgiveness is not easy for us, forgiveness is possible with God. When we forgive, we make room for what God wants to do. Forgiveness means giving up our claim for justice and our need to be right. And sometimes we must recognize that we have to move on. Through it all, it is essential for us to rely on God’s forgiveness, faithfulness, and favor.
Sara cautions us that it is futile to stay angry with God- nothing good comes of it. Yet, when our little bit of faith intersects with God’s faithfulness, God can do amazing things in us and through us. We struggle most with hurt when we seek love from other people rather than Jesus. We can choose to let it go. Sara concludes:
“There is no sweeter sound than the exhale of release. Forgiveness is possible when we give it all to God.”
