A heart that’s planted in forgiveness, doesn’t dwell in the past:

If you know me, you know one of my all-time favorite worship or Christian songs is “Sparrows,” by Cory Asbury.  This is a good reminder in a song that the Lord takes good care of us and that he always loves us.  We have the opportunity to live with the Lord forever in this world and beyond in God’s kindness and goodness. The lyrics of this song have many other pieces of truth such as a good reminder that we don’t have to fear the future because the Lord has a plan.  

One of the lyrics that recently was brought to my attention was, “A heart that’s planted in forgiveness doesn’t dwell in the past.”  What a beautiful line!  All of the other lines in the song had to do with the birds in the sky and the trees in the ground and how the Lord takes care of them, so we don’t have to worry about ourselves.  This line had to do with our own hearts. This line was a reminder that the Lord really loves us enough and he will always forgive us, no matter what bad things we have done or no matter how many times we have walked away from Him.  He will always love us and care for us.  

This is also a good reminder of the importance of forgiveness, both of ourselves and those around us. There are many things that people do wrong to us, but holding on to those items is not what will help us prosper in our lives. While it can be hard to forgive and to think about the terrible things others have done to us, it also is a good reminder that God has forgiven us so much and that is the example he has set for us.  The second part of the lyrics is what almost brought tears to my eyes.  The Lord doesn’t want us to think about the past.  We don’t always forgive ourselves.  There are times that we can make mistakes in our own lives, and get very frustrated with ourselves.  However, the Lord wants us to be able to forgive ourselves and to not dwell in our choices that we made in the past.  Whatever choices or decisions that were made in the past, do not matter because the Lord has forgiven us.  

Being willing to forgive is one of the best things that we can do.   I believe there are many reasons that we should do this, not just because the Lord has told us, but because we should do it as a way to live healthier: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  There has been a lot of study and research into whether or not forgiveness can have a deep impact on our health.  John Hopkins medicine conducted research and published an article that described that when people are more naturally forgiving and willing to let go of grudges, they are less likely to struggle with depression and anxiety.  “Studies have found that the act of forgiveness can reap huge rewards for your health, lowering the risk of heart attack; improving cholesterol levels and sleep; and reducing pain, blood pressure, and levels of anxiety, depression and stress.”  (John Hopkins Medical)  However, as you can imagine, when you are not willing to let go of anger, you have a more likely chance of struggling with depression and anxiety.  

Recently, I was watching the show Dance moms.  (I know, that is such a healthy and righteous show-sarcasm.  I actually sometimes get mad at myself for loving it because I know that it was a tragic event for a lot of the kids.  That could be a blog post for another day.)  I watched this scene where one of the moms apologized for her behavior in front of the other moms and to the dance teacher herself.  This was received well, but she was a bit upset that she didn’t get the same apology that she gave out.  She was willing to move on, but at the end of the day, she wanted the same apology and chance to hand out forgiveness that she gave out to the other moms.  This reminds me that sometimes, we as people also need to be willing to say our apologies for the wrongs that we do or the part that we take in arguments, even if we are not going to receive the same apology or the same reception of forgiveness.   However, this is something that we now should know how to do as we have had the Lord as an example.  

Last reminder and example that the Lord has given us is that he also forgets our sins and throws them as far as the east is from the west.  This is mentioned in Psalm 103:1, “The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” We never have to think about our transgressions ever again.  If we have forgiveness from our Lord and we are willing to forgive ourselves, then we need to make sure to learn from our mistakes and move into our future.  We also need to be willing to do this with the others that are around us.  A heart that is completely surrounded and planted in forgiveness never needs to dwell or stress about the past, just the future growing relationship with the Lord. 

Link to John Hopkins Medicine article: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/forgiveness-your-health-depends-on-it