Today June Hunt continues her presentation of seven strategies we can use to train our brain to forgive (Chapter 7, How to Forgive) by discussing how to use your power tools of thanksgiving and praise.
3. Use you power tools: thanksgiving and praise. June encourages you to being your mornings by expressing gratitude for God’s many gifts or for certain people He’s brought into your life. In his book Our Heavenly Father, Dr. Robert Frost describes what can keep you from being offended at God for the adversity He allows in your life:
“There is nothing more precious to God than our praise during affliction. . . . What he does not protect us from, he will perfect us through. There is indeed a special blessing for those who do not become offended at God during adversity.”
Ms. Hunt observes it is impossible to perpetually view yourself as a victim or dwell on “an eye for an eye” justice when you are intentional about thanking God for the blessings in your life.
4. Pray for your enemies. During the times you struggle to pray for those who wounded or offended you, it is important to realize that your enemies aren’t spiritually healthy. If they were spiritually healthy, they would not have hurt you. June points out the benefits of praying for our offenders:
“Praying for others helps us to see them as God sees them. It paves the way to forgive as God forgives. Praying for your enemies enables you to more easily take them off your hook and place them onto God’s hook.”
Today’s question: What has been an encouragement to you to use your power tools of thanksgiving and praise? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Wounds from a friend”