Offenses

“Try to have an unoffendable spirit, because offenses are one of the biggest blockers in an effective prayer life.”- Brenda Neuenschwander. That’s some good food for thought.

Ever since that damp, foggy morning in a rural village plopped in the middle of Myanmar, I knew I wanted absolutely nothing to do with bitterness. Up till then, it was a struggle. But since then when it creeps up on me, I make a conscious decision to drop it as fast as possible. The ranting old spinster in front of me that day was the epitome of everything I didn't want to become.

Now here I am back in America, almost 2 years later. I recognize I still have space to grow more in this area. I'm not tempted to pray for development in this area, for I fear the bitter lemons to be made into sweet lemonade as much as you do. But I think God sometimes has a kinder way to help us change perspective.

I think what helps me more is to dig into how deeply God loves us. I read recently that the foundation of healthy spirituality is dependent on believing God loves me as much as anyone else. Sorry, not sure which one of several books I'm reading, but knowing that love changes everything. It's profound when God's opinion takes precedence over others. When we know and believe in our hearts what extraordinary love He has for us, all the drama kinda eases away from pounding us on our throats and threatening our "life blood."

I've been bitter at God. There... It's true. I had to forgive Him. At the same time, I knew I had to ask Him to forgive me, too for being bitter so long. God is big enough to handle it, but He is also pained at our misperception of Him. That bitterness was the wall that kept my misperception in place. Be honest with yourself. I may not be the only one who has had some wrong theology going on.

It's not so much about how the offenses come, but what we do after the fact. What do I believe as a result of the event? What have you turned to because of what happened?

There is a lot of peace, and rest after we get past offenses to resting in His love. I've often found comfort in picturing all the bad things on one pile, with all the good things of God on the other side. The good side is always higher, for God can't be outdone. No matter how evil it can be, God has something even more awesome and greater than however large the wicked part is. God’s love is something we can trust, relax in, and believe to be as true for us as for anyone else.

The enemy uses offenses and hard things to keep our eyes off the truth of how much He loves us. We have to step back and see the big picture sometimes, for the right perspective of God and ourselves changes everything. Don’t get swept into what is going on. Sometimes, I simply don’t get involved anymore because I know where I might go in my head emotionally. Learn to sidestep the trap, if you can see it. Reality is if we have God in His proper place on the throne, we tend to have a better perspective on life, too.

Moral of the story is we can either get caught up in the drama of offenses and keeping score, or we can step back, get God in the right place in our hearts, and be able to rise above the situation.

We don't need offenses taking up brain space that we could be using for praying, or offering grace. Yes, we can pray for offending circumstances, but why waste all our energy and time when there are a ton of prayer opportunities out there?