SCRIPTURE:
"At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.”
Deuteronomy 15:1-2
OBSERVATION:
At the end of every seven years debts would be canceled. There would be no outstanding payments required at the end of this time. The Lord’s time for canceling debts would be proclaimed and it would be wiped clean. In the world we live in, this type of debt relief is often called debt forgiveness.
APPLICATION:
As I read through this chapter today, that word forgiveness kept coming to mind. Perhaps it had to do with the term of debt cancelation that we use in society today, but I think The Lord was highlighting this for another reason – the hurts that we may have been carrying.
I began thinking about the freedom that so many would experience, if we wouldn’t carry grudges and unforgiveness. What would happen in our world if after a matter of time, whether we felt like it or not, that we would extend forgiveness. Effectively canceling any debts that we may feel like we are owed.
Like the debt of feeling we deserve an apology for a past hurt, or the debt of feeling owed something in return because of a favor we may have done.
Forgiving our debts and debtors can actually be found in some translations of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:12). When we are able to forgive those who have hurt us and forgive the things that were done to us, we can then walk in true freedom and receive all that The Lord has for us.
Instead of waiting, I must take time daily to extend forgiveness.
PRAYER:
Father Almighty. Forgive me Lord for times when I have held on to a hurt longer than I should have. Thank You Lord for the freedom You give us when we forgive. May I forgive regularly and forgive often, this I pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
