Read
Acts 13:22 (NIV)
]After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 

Reflect 
Have you ever been hurt so badly that you cannot forgive the offender? I have testified several times that there are a couple of people in my life that cut me so deeply that scars have remained for years. I am not proud of that fact. It is a struggle on a pretty regular basis for me to come to grips with my failure. 

David’s first sin was not to be at war with his men (2 Samuel 11), where he was expected to be as a king. While at home, he then committed adultery with Bathsheba. To cover his sin with her, he had her husband killed during battle. David was anything but a model follower of God during this time. Yet God calls David, “a man after his own heart;” knowing full well that David would so very completely fail him. 

So why is David a man after God’s own heart. If you were to read through Psalm 51 you would see the repentant heart of David before God. David begins verse 4 with “Against you, and you only, have I sinned …” David came to grips with his total failure before God and fell prostrate, broken and humiliated before the God who had so blessed him. I believe it is the repentant heart of David that makes him the kind of person that God can say of him, he is “a man after my own heart.” 

Lack of forgiveness is an ungodly attitude. Retaliation or wishing harm on someone is the way of the devil. I cannot find forgiveness on my own, but in Christ, with His help and the power of the Holy Spirit within me, God is creating a space for forgiveness to grow so I might also be “a man after God’s own heart.” Don’t give up on forgiveness. Ask God to help you so that you too may experience the joy there is in forgiveness – even when it is hard to do so. 

Pray 
Lord Jesus, I know that you have so freely forgiven me of all my sin, make me strong enough to forgive those that have cut me deeply. Let me know the joy of your forgiveness anew and afresh. Amen. 

Power of Sin, Power of Forgiveness

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