Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me that I need to forgive others. The parable You share with Your disciples clearly depicts that I have been forgiven so much more than I can ever repay. From day to day, I forget that; and it seems so easy to harbor ill will toward those who hurt me, and want to see them punished.
It feels like if I forgive them, I’m letting them get away with something, releasing them from the consequences or punishment of their hurtful actions. Some who have grieved me don’t even ask for forgiveness.
The truth is: I am the one set free when I forgive. And I am being obedient. So I am doubly blessed when I can forgive others. Help me remember this the next time I face these circumstances. And show me right now if there is someone that I haven’t forgiven. Lead me through whatever steps I need to take to get right with them and right with You.
The 23rd Psalm is the first passage of scripture I memorized. You tell us to hide Your Word in our hearts, and this is one that I did. Thank You that You are my Good Shepherd. Don’t know that I like being characterized as a sheep all that much; they are such smelly, stupid animals. But I understand a lot of accurate parallels can be drawn. And the depiction of the care and protection the shepherd provides paints a wonderful picture of Your love for man and for me.
Thank You for providing for my needs. Thank You for knowing when I need to rest and be restored; and for affording those times of rest and restoration, making sure I have what I need physically and spiritually. Thank You for leading me in the path You have chosen for me; and for being there with me so there is no need to fear. When evil threatens, I am calmed and quieted by trusting Your presence and Your ability to defend me completely. I draw strength from Your promises to protect and provide for me all the days of my life, and then to take me to be with You for all eternity. My Shepherd. My Savior. Amen
Daily Bible Prayer 
This really touched on 2 things in my life: A number of years ago my husband said something to me that he shouldn’t have – it was not true, was an insult and hurt me deeply. As I was talking with God about it and having a hard time forgiving Alton, He reminded me of Rom 5:8: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Suddenly forgiving Alton was easy because I realized exactly what that verse meant. God had forgiven me before I ever had any idea He existed. (I accepted Jesus as my Savior at age 6 and have always been in church, though not always following after Christ’s will.) And a long time ago, I wrote a whole series of meditations on Ps 23 – taking each phrase of it and discussing it phrase by phrase – maybe 20 or so in all. Blessings, SandraDailyGod.net
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