6 Verses to Remember that will Help You Listen, Love, & Forgive
I can still picture where I was standing, hear the words, and feel the way they hit my heart.
I’d finally gotten the courage to share my sadness and longings with an older woman in our congregation.
But before the words were fully out of my mouth, she looked at me and said, “Shame on you. You are blessed. You should stop feeling sorry for yourself and count your blessings.”
Now, although she may have been right. At that moment, I needed her to listen with compassion. I needed her to care that I was hurting. I needed her to pray with me and for me.
And the truth is that although I want to be someone who consistently listens with care and compassion, I wonder how often I have hurriedly given a quick answer that wounded a hurting heart.
I see it on social media, too.
Someone shares their heart or concern and the comments pour in…
- Maybe you have done something that is blocking God’s answer.
- You need more faith.
- Are you faithful in daily prayer?
- What could you do to solve this problem?
I believe part of the problem is we want fast, quick, and easy. We want to fix the problem and move on.
But God wants us to listen, love, and yes, even forgive those whose words hurt us.
So, let’s take a closer look at what God’s Word tells us to do when someone shares their struggles with us and/or what we should do when they let us down.
When someone trusts you enough to share their struggles with you, remember:
♥ Help each other in troubles and problems. This is the kind of law Christ asks us to obey. Galatians 3:2 (NLV)
♥ Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12
♥ Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 1 Peter 3:8
And when someone lets you down and fails to listen and love you the way you need, remember…
♥ We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. Romans 8:28
♥ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Colossian 3:13–14
♥ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
Will you join me as I go to the Lord in prayer?
A Prayer to Listen Compassionately,
Pray Faithfully, and Love & Forgive Like Jesus
Father, we need You. We are imperfect and impatient. We’ve grown accustomed to instant meals and instant entertainment. We want instant answers to our prayers and the prayers of the people around us.
As I look at Jesus’ love and compassion and His patience with countless people who came to Him for healing and provision, I want to be more like Him. Jesus took time and listened with love. He gave us an example of prayer and presence.
Father, Please help us. Please help me. Give me the patience I need to fully listen with love. May my words be caring and compassionate without judgment or platitudes.
May I faithfully and continuously bring every need to You in prayer. You know our needs and You know what is best. You have promised to be with us, to help us carry our burdens, and to work all things for our good and Your glory. Help me trust You.
Lord, You have commanded us to love and forgive. Please give me everything I need to represent You to a hurting world. Help me shine the light of Your love to my hurting friends. And help me forgive others as You have faithfully forgiven me. Your grace, mercy, and love bless each of us every day. Please help us that we might help one another. Amen.
Relationships are tricky, aren’t they?
We want to love well. We want to be loved well. But the truth is we all fail at times. No one, besides Jesus, loves perfectly 100% of the time. We need to be patient and we need to forgive.
And we need to refuse to give up on each other. Every person on the planet is a flawed work in progress. May we commit, with God’s help, to listen, love, and forgive . . . like Jesus.
I’m asking God to bless you today and give you everything you need to help you live with love . . . like Jesus.
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Thank you, Amanda! I am truly blessed by your kind encouragement! God be with you and bless you!
This is just the encouragement I need today, Deb. I so need to be patient with others, remembering that all of us are works in progress.
Blessings!
I’m so thankful the Lord does not give up on us through our progression. God bless you!
Great reminder of the importance of carrying one another’s burdens with compassion. I especially appreciated the verses showing both how we should respond to those who are hurting and how to respond to those who have hurt us.
Thank you, Janet! I truly appreciate your kindness and encouragement. God bless you!
I pray that God will give me the grace to treat others the way that I want to be treated and to forgive rather than holding grudges. Love is the key for much of life’s situations. God bless you Deb. I appreciate your messages as they uplift my spirit tremendously thank you.
Thank you, sweet friend! I join you in that prayer! May the Lord help me to love like Jesus and forgive as He has forgiven me. Blessings!
I really needed to read Colossians 3: 13-14. “Make allowance for other’s faults”. Thank you Deb.
Thank you, Angela! May God bless us and give us everything we need to love like Jesus! Blessings and hugs!
I remember couple of years ago, had a friend who was a believer for a long time. I was going through a rough patch in my faith, and asked her to pray for me. In response she said, that the path of the faith is a lonely way, I have to walk it by myself. But if I really want than she can pray for me. Her answer shocked me, not because suddenly the friendship didn’t mean as much anymore, but rather because it was in such an opposition to everything I knew from Scripture. Jesus and the apostles always encouraged to carry each other’s problems, difficulties, and joy. I didn’t ask her to walk my faith path but to pray for me. Didn’t Jesus say that if two or three of you pray in my Name I’m there? There supposed to be strenght in praying for each other. But how wonderful is that when people and friends turn their back on us, we can ask the Holy Spirit to be our partner in asking Jesus….
Long time ago I read a short story about a street preacher who was standing on the corner spreading God’s word to all passerbys. He was subjected regularly to ridicule, or to just cold indifference. After a while he got discouraged and stopped going to the corner. One day, his path led to the same place and in surprise he saw a young fellow preaching the Gospel to all passerbys. The old preacher asked him what motivated him to do this. The young man answered, – long time ago, there was an old man who used to preach the Gospel in this very corner, and God’s Word deeply touched my heart, that turned my life around. Then one day, I couldn’t see the old preacher anymore, so I started to preach God’s Word at the same spot, if someone may accept the Lord. The old preacher went away deeply ashamed, crying, with a deep pang in his heart, hearing a voice saying – you forfeited the post I placed you, so someone else stepped in to claim the glory.
I guess, it’s somehow the same with us too. The Lord assigns us a task and if we become unfaithful to it then He will place the same responsibility on someone else. One way or another, He accomplishes His will, only we loose out on the reward – well done, faithful servant, go into your Master’s feast.
Gaby, you’re words remind me once again how thankful I am for God’s forgiveness and love. He always accomplishes His plans and purposes . . . my prayer is to be available that He can accomplish them through me. I know I have times when I fail and times when I’ve had to forgive those who have failed me. What a blessing to have new opportunities each day. God be with you and bless you, my friend!
Oh absolutely Deb, none of us are immune to fail each other time to time. And while I forgave her, something broke in the relationship. Almost like, she revealed something to me that I wasn’t supposed to be privy to. Eventually, she broke off the friendship. And while I always would welcome fellow believers to share our thoughts, confusions, or joy…..sometimes I have a feeling that Jesus tries to redirect my focus on Himself. He wants to be my most confident Friend….????????. I always say that I’m a thick skulled slow learner …lol
What a blessing to have Jesus as our Friend! And I’m a thick-skulled slow learner, too! LOL
I really did enjoy this reading today. Thank you! I will look forward to all of your blogs for sure.
Sincerely,
Susan J
I’m so glad you were blessed and encouraged. Thank you for joining us. I’ll look forward to getting to know you better. God bless you!