Forgive Them

     Forgive them, Jesus said in Matthew 18:21-22 "Then Peter came up and said to him. "Lord how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." Even when he was on the cross, Jesus said to his Father in heaven in Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do..." These are the scriptures I think about when someone that I am close to or that I know may say something very hurtful to me and I see as a very different kind of verbal attack. They did not do it in anger but in a very causal way showing to me that it was not a purposeful attack on me. It did not really mean much to them when they said it. They even forgot what they said to me. However to me it was like a gut punch that took my breath away and I needed sometime to recover. They could sense my distress but they did not know what caused it. I just tell them that I am not feeling well and need sometime to rest.
     I knew exactly what it was as soon as my friend said those hurtful words to me. It was not a personal attack on me instead it was a well place attack by Satan to test me. He wanted to see how I will react and how much damage he can do to my friendship and to my relationship to God. I have experienced these kind of attacks before and they are so unexpected and they hit so hard. I usually need a few hours of prayer asking God for his strength and protection from Satan's attacks to recover. I use distraction like reading and watching television to get my mind off what was said. After a few hours I feel better and back to my old self. I did not yell at my friend or caused him distress in anyway. I knew that Satan just using him to get to me.
     Jesus went through something similar with the apostle Peter. Matthew 16:21-23 "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord. This shall never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Satan was using Peter to get to Jesus. Satan wanted Jesus to doubt his mission and not go through with it. However Jesus saw that Satan was using Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan!" He did not get angry at Peter but at the one that was using him.
     I find these verbal attacks by Satan so tiring to me. The more older I get the more more tiring they become. I sometimes think that Satan is trying to wear me down. These attacks can be designed to attack your faith, your self-worth and it will create doubts that you are even loved. Satan will use someone to attack any of your weaknesses and this attack will usually be from someone that you are close to so to make it unexpected and more damaging to your mental state. If it breaks up your relationship, he is more than happy. He wants to separate you from your friend and from your friendship with God. This is why you must use forgiveness for your friend because he was not the one that was verbally hurting you but being used by Satan to test your faith, your forgiveness and your love.