Pray, Love, Forgive.

To pray, to love, to forgive—that’s the way to have a happy soul and walk into a bright future. When life is though, we need a strategy to handle all challenges and the strength to do it. To pray, to love, and to forgive is such a strategy. Recently I was in conversation with a friend who has many burdens to carry in daily life and I shared the struggles and difficulties in mine. I was asked what my strategies are to handle everything and how I gain strength to do it. Here’s part of the answer.

‘Rejoicing in hope, patient [persevering] in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.’ Romans 12:12

Hope is essential in life—it’s the oxygen for the soul. Without hope we fall into despair. Rejoicing in hope gives us the power to preserve in tribulations and to be patient in trials. Without that power to endure, we might just give up and be buried under the rubble of life’s difficulties and injustices when everything collapses on top of us… But hope lets us rise from the ashes and try again after failure. Hope is the oxygen of the soul. It inspires us to take courage and get up after defeat or setback.

Prayer and Perseverance

Prayer fuels that hope and power to persevere. Prayer taps into the heavenly resources of God’s eternal power. The One who keeps us doesn’t slumber—He is an ever-present help in time of need (Psalm 121:1–4; 46:1). He gives strength to those who hope in Him and wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31). In prayer we can cast our burdens on the Lord, because we know He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). God isn’t indifferent or careless. Some people are, but not God. He is not a man that He should lie; He is not mortal that He should fail us. Divine hope doesn’t disappoint (Romans 5:5).

In this life we cannot escape the pain of disappointments, yet there is healing hope—hope that allows us to rejoice and persevere in trials and tribulations and gives us power to continue despite it all. Prayer empowers the weak to become strong. Prayer inspires the blind to see a future when everything seems lost. Prayer shows us the way when there seems no way. Prayer takes away that heaviness in our soul that keeps us down. God refreshes us so we can be free inside and tackle life’s challenges with fresh hope and renewed strength. You need freedom internally to fight battles externally. His power heals our pain and restores our soul so we can face the valley of the shadow of death without fear, because we know God is with us!

Prayer also empowers us to love and to forgive, as it draws on the heavenly resources to live a divine life in the midst of earthly struggles and sufferings. When God’s Spirit fills us when we pray, God’s power lets us mount up with wings of eagles, as the prophet poetically wrote so beautifully (Isaiah 40:28–31). We rise up above the hurt and pain, the despair and hopelessness of life. We soar above the problems of life and start seeing it from a heavenly perspective and gain divine strength to deal with it properly. We learn to deal with earthly situations from a heavenly perspective.

‘We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.’ 2 Corinthians 4:8–9

Life can hit us hard, but God provides power to endure it. Paul had learned to depend on God’s power, as his own was insufficient. It’s true, life doesn’t always get easier, but we can get stronger. Complaining in self-pity about how painful things are won’t help. Being angry at those who hurt us won’t heal us. Dwelling on the past won’t make it disappear from your memory. The power of God to heal and restore is what we need. ‘Heal me and I shall be healed,’ was Jeremiah’s prayer (Jeremiah 17:14). He was right. God’s healing that flows from love and forgiveness keeps us from bitterness and despair. Choosing love and hope is the way.

Persevering during trials is possible by the power God provides through hope, love and prayer. Perseverance is the power to endure trials towards the desired goal without falling into despair—you keep hope alive by trusting God to get you to the desired end despite the setbacks and disappointments along the way. The story of Job, according to James, is one of endurance with a focus on the outcome and a dependency on God’s mercy and compassion (James 5:11).

Life might press us hard at times, but His power keeps us from being crushed. We might be perplexed at times and can’t understand why this happened, but hope is the factor that keeps us from falling into despair. We trust an unknown future to a known God, as Corrie Ten Boom encouraged us to do. We need the power to persevere or else we will fall into despair. Perseverance makes the difference that keeps us from despair when perplexed. His power keeps us from being destroyed when people or circumstances strike us down—we get back up again and refuse to give us. God’s power is resurrection power!

Love and Forgiveness

Love and forgiveness are crucial to peace and happiness. The opposite to love and forgiveness is hatred and revenge. God’s power cannot operate in us when we are bitter and hateful. Sadly, all too often people chose evil over the divine. To revenge looks appealing at first, but leaves the rotten fruit of a bitter soul behind. To forgive seems hard at first, but leads into the glorious freedom of a happy soul. Always make choices with the future in mind. Think of the consequences. Often, the wrong way is the easy way, but the right way is the hard way. But if you want good long-term results of your attitude and actions, chose what is right over what is easy.

When we pour out our hearts in trust towards God (Psalm 62:8), when we cast our burdens on a caring, loving and powerful God (Psalm 55:22), when we pray by trusting God without wanting to figure it all out in our mind (Proverbs 3:5), peace and strength will come to us, clarity and strategy will fill our minds and vision and hope will guard our soul. Trusting God is knowing He will work out His purpose even if I can’t figure it out or understand how He will do it. God can guide us. We suddenly know the way we should walk in, as if someone is showing us the way. God is with us when we walk through the waters; He won’t allow the rivers to overflow us; and He will protect us in the fires of trials and tribulations (Isaiah 43:2). He is ever faithful and powerful to show the way of escape in any temptation in life (1 Corinthians 10:13).

When the Israelites, after years of enslavement, had left the House of Bondage in Egypt and set out to the Promised Land, God was with them. But then they found themselves ‘between a rock and a hard place’: the Red Sea ahead of them, the Egyptian army behind them. There is an obstacle in front of them and a threat behind them. What were they to do? When they looked forwards, they saw the obstacle which caused anxiety and when they looked backwards, they saw the threat that caused fear. When you can’t see the solution ahead and feel intimidate by what is persecuting you, look upwards to the One who can help you!

Don’t allow anger and despair to bring the worst out of you. Let faith and love bring the best out of you. To pray, to love, and to forgive is the way forward into a bright future. Don’t look around you in fear, look upwards in hope. When Jesus suffered on the cross to redeem us, He committed His spirit to the One who would take Him up. He rose from the dead by the power of God—the greatest comeback in history.

The way Jesus was able to handle His suffering was by prayer, by love and by forgiveness. He prayer for God’s will to happen, for He knew that that was the best option; He loved until the end because love was His way; and He forgave, even those who crucified Him: ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’ Famous words that echo in eternity. People’s ignorance can cause great harm—forgive anyway. Walk in the freedom forgiveness brings to your soul. Forgive, let go, and choose love—it leads to freedom.

Jesus gave us the example: to pray, to love and to forgive. Jesus trusted God in His faithfulness, and so can you. He loved and He forgave, and so can you. Jesus is the way and He showed the way. By the hope and power God provides, we might be hard pressed, but won’t be crushed; at times we might be perplexed at what life throws at us, but we won’t be despair; when persecuted, we know God won’t forsake us; we might get struck down, but we won’t be destroyed—we trust God in all things.

Pray, love and forgive.