During the journey through life we all encounter stretches that are full of "wormwood and gall". It is right and good to be realistic about this. Author Larry Crabb calls it "the red dot", like finding the "you are here" red dot on a map in a shopping mall. You have know where you are before you can find a route to where you need to go. Likewise, it is healthy to realistically assess your situation and honestly own your feelings about it. Some people try to skip this step. They usually waste a lot of time wandering around, not knowing exactly where they are or where they are going.
Once we have figured out where we are, it is time to intentionally move our attention to something, or rather someone else.
"but this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end..." Lamentations 3:21-22
We can focus on our own afflictions and wanderings, or we can focus on "the steadfast love of the Lord".
The need for forgiveness in particular seems to often keep us glued to the red dot. Some people rehearse the wrongs done to them over and over. They refuse to forgive. Other people rehearse the ways they have done wrong and refuse to forgive themselves. Either way, the focus on themselves, instead of on the "steadfast love of the Lord" keeps them glued to the red dot.
"Hold not our sins against us,
but hold us up against our sins,
so that the thought of you
when it wakens in our soul
should not remind us of what we have committed,
but of what you did forgive,
not of how we went astray,
but of how you did save us."Soren Kierkegaard
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