Psalms, Chapter 118, verse 5
5 Let those who fear
the LORD say, his mercy endures forever.
Forgiveness
will unleash a power in your life that is underrated and often ignored. It is
underrated mainly because it is underused. We fail to capture the power of forgiveness
because we are afraid of it, because we have grown comfortable in our familiar wounds,
or because we are sinfully stubborn. But the power is there waiting for us.[1]
Allen
R. Hunt outlines there are three parts to forgiveness: 1) Receiving Forgiveness
which involves experiencing God and forgiving yourself. 2) Deciding to Forgive.
3) Sharing Forgiveness.
In
this week’s book study of Character is Destiny[2] we
looked into the strong confidence of Queen Elizabeth I of England which she by her
example brought about England’s golden era. It is evident that she in her rise
as the greatest Queen in English history used these three steps not only for
herself but for others as well.
She
was raised in fear and uncertainty that would have paralyzed anyone but she
rose above it by her strength and confidence. Where did her confidence come
from; was it inherited from her father? Why is it she had an air of command,
gracefulness, and dignity that eluded others around her that wished to kill her
for the crown? Her early life was particularly in grave peril. In imprisonment
she was defiant and argumentative; she knew meekness would not save her life. She
went forth daringly in faith having received God’s forgiveness expecting the
same death at any time that her mother received (Beheading). At her accession
to the throne Elizabeth kneelt to the ground and said in Latin “This is the
Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
As
Queen she would not be ruled by fear and boldly stated, “I am your anointed
Queen. I will never be constrained by violence to do anything. It is monstrous
for the feet to direct the head.” Knowing fear is the root of evil she
decided to forgive; not to persecute Catholics for their faith; thus sharing
her forgiveness with loyal English Catholics.
She stated as long as Catholics remained loyal subjects, she would not
trouble their consciences. She acknowledged God’s mercy at her final address to
the united English people:
“Thou
God has raised me high, yet this I account the glory of my reign, that I have
reigned with your love….You may have many a wiser prince sitting in this seat,
but you never have had, or shall have, anyone who loves you better.”
Today,
Go forth and conquer! Next week we will be studying the character trait of industry
or diligence of Eric Hoffer a philosopher and writer who explained the purpose
of Freedom.
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