Self Worth (June Hunt Hope for the Heart) by June Hunt Read Free Book Online

felt
because of ( list each offense ).
Right now I release all that
pain into Your hands.
Thank You, Lord, for dying on the cross for me
and extending Your forgiveness to me.
As an act of my will,
I choose to forgive ( name ).
Right now, I take ( name )
off of my emotional hook,
and I place ( name ) onto Your hook.
I refuse all thoughts of revenge.
I trust that in Your time and in Your way
You will deal with ( name ) as You see fit.
And Lord, thank You for giving me Your power
to forgive so that I can be set free.
In Your precious name I pray. Amen.”
    Q UESTION: “How do I sustain a forgiving spirit?”
    A NSWER: Most often, forgiveness is not a onetime event. You may need to go through many rounds of forgiving in your fight against bitterness. This is a normal part of the process of forgiveness. But if you confront your hurts and face your wounds, it will be worth the emotional bruises you will likely experience. As you consistently release each recurring thought of an offense or revenge for an offense, eventually the thoughts will diminish and disappear.
    Dorie was constantly asked one question: “Aren’t you bitter toward your mother?” And Dorie’s consistent reply? “No. I am not. As a child in the orphanage, and the difficult years that followed, I experienced periods of bitterness, but I chose to forgive my mother even though I knew she would never respond to me. Perhaps the most basic mistake made by those who are bitter is the belief that they cannot forgive because they don’t feel like it. Forgiveness is not an emotion. One can choose to forgive whether one feels like it or not. Many of us have had to reject our emotions, saying ‘No’ to our natural inclinations and firmly declare, ‘I forgive.’”
    Jesus emphasizes the “again and again” nature of forgiveness when He says ...
    “If he sins against you seven times in a day ... forgive him.” (Luke 17:4)
ACCEPT Seven Steps to Self-Acceptance
    For years Dorie concealed a secret. She thought people would not believe her if she told the sordid truth. After Dorie left the orphanage at age 13, she went into the first of many foster homes in which she suffered merciless verbal and emotional abuse, as well as physical and sexual abuse. She confided, “There was nothing I could do to stop him from violating my body. He warned me that if I ever told anyone he would kill me.” Dorie believed him. 28
    At a later home, her rollaway bed was placed in a hallway where strange men passed by in the night. Her foster mother gave these men permission to perform immoral acts on Dorie, and she was repeatedly forced to participate in their perversions. As a result, she believed she could never be clean and whole again.
    Dorie later said, “[God] gave the grace to bear my trials. It was He who chose me to belong to Him; He knew the first day of my life, as well as all the days in between. He knew that some day that dirty little girl would stand before thousands of people and tell them that God is faithful.” 29
    Although Dorie van Stone experienced the depths of degradation and disgrace at the hands of those with the hardest of hearts, the Lord raised His choice servant up to bring hope to multitudes of people in America, on the mission field, and around the globe.
    The Bible says ...
    “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.” (Psalm 71:20)
    It is possible for you to acquire a positive self-image and to learn to value yourself as God values you. In order to do that, God wants you to accept the following seven truths about yourself.
1 I accept God’s Word that I was created in His image.
    “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
2 I accept myself as acceptable to Christ.
    “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans