A Call to Prayer: The Transformative Power of Forgiveness

Recently, while in prayer, a scripture came to me ‘out of the blue.’ It was Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Over and over, this resonated within my heart. I was not aware of any sin I had committed recently. Yet, I felt this was a word the Lord wanted to highlight for many.  Then this phrase came to me causing tears to flow, “Forgiveness is a beautiful thing.”

Forgiveness can take different forms. We need forgiveness for attitudes, thoughts, and actions we have done outside of the will of God. There is the forgiveness of others for wrongs done against us. Forgiveness is needed towards ourselves for wrongs that cost us in some form. Additionally, sometimes we need to ‘release’ God from our expectations of what we think He should have done in situations that caused us pain.

Portions of King David’s Psalm of Repentance, Psalm 51, says, “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow, make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice…create in me a clean heart, O God…restore to me the joy of Your salvation…the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise.” Getting free of the weight of sin and having angst give way to joy and peace is worth more than gold. Jesus often spoke of the importance of forgiveness and then demonstrated it profoundly when, while dying on the cross, He uttered these words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

I’ve had a journey of forgiving my abusive father and repenting connected bitterroot judgments toward him, which was life-changing. It set me on the road to marrying the godly man I have and living free of bondage to repeat destructive family patterns.  Before my dad passed into eternity, we had years of deep love towards each other in a restored relationship not possible without the power of divine forgiveness and grace.

Forgiveness is a decision of the will and not a feeling. We obey the directives of the Lord to forgive whether or not we feel like it and no matter the offense committed. The emotions often catch up after the choice to forgive is made.

Corrie ten Boom has been a hero to me for many years. Corrie and other family members were imprisoned during the Nazi occupation of her homeland of The Netherlands. She and her sister, Betsie, were imprisoned in the notorious Ravensbruck concentration camp. They were subject to horrendous treatment and deprivation of food, which led to Betsie’s death.

Years later, while speaking in a German church on the power of the love and forgiveness of God, Corrie saw a man in the audience who was one of the prison guards who had tortured her in prison. At the end, she wanted to slip away from the meeting quietly, but this man came forward, extending his hand to her, asking, “Would you forgive me?” Corrie describes what happens next:  “‘Jesus help me!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’  And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me.  And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, and sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flow through my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried.  ‘With all my heart!’  For a long moment, we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.”

The Lord is committed to helping His people unite. This is not possible without the unifying power of forgiveness. Whether between family members, friends, co-workers, across races, generations, or between Jew and Gentile, the day is coming when we will be One as the Godhead is One. Corrie ten Boom says, “Why should we hold on to the sins of others while our own sins have been cast into the depths of the sea?” Indeed, forgiveness is a beautiful thing.

Every Blessing,

Patricia Bootsma

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