God has been wanting me to learn much more about Him and His steadfast ways with us.  My lesson today for the Step Study is about forgiveness.  In it we address 3 questions:  1.  Have you accepted God’s forgiveness?  2.  Have you forgiven others who have hurt you?  3.  Have you forgiven yourself?

I’ve done these lessons many times now over the years and I’ve answered them differently each time depending on the steps of recovery God has taken me through.  Presently, God has been showing me the importance of belief and trust.  John 19:30 says, “It is finished.”  The price of our sins is paid in full.  I’ve stumbled around over this for a long time.  Much of my life I thought I couldn’t be forgiven because of the sins done to me.  I didn’t think the filth of my brother’s sexual sin to me could ever be cleansed.  Rich was forgiven, but God didn’t address sin done to you, I thought.  When I finally got to the place where I had accepted my dad’s sin and my brother’s sin as theirs and not mine, I began to let it go.  Last summer it was my mom I dealt with.

Now, God is wanting me to fully believe and trust in Him.  Philippians 1:6 says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  It is time to start perfecting these gifts of The Holy Spirit.  I have asked God to plant the seeds of both and I know they are growing (or will be growing).  This lesson of today on forgiveness drives home the importance of believing and trusting completely.  All of my life I’ve thought I had to be the strong one in order to not be like dad or Rich.  Instead, God was wanting me to surrender what I thought was my strength so I could learn to be strong in Him.  In so doing I can become more Christ-like.  This I want to do.  This is what God is wanting me to become.