Thursday, April 23, 2026

Bible in a Year: Job 17-18 | Matthew 11

Last summer, I realized that I had an anger issue. I was not the first to notice this situation (sorry, family and friends!). But once I noticed and named the emotion, I knew I needed to take steps to identify my need. My next step was to discover the truth about what I believed about my “right” to my anger.

I realized God called me to forgive those who had hurt me. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” (Luke 11:14) I had to trust that God had already provided the answer to my need. Jesus took not just my sin, but also the sin of whom I was angry with, to the cross.

Jesus didn’t just sacrifice his life for me. It is a choice for each of us to accept that his sinless death paid the price for all of us.

Perhaps you’ve repeatedly struggled with something as well. God gives us the freedom to choose. The question is, “Do you choose freedom, or do you choose to continue in your sinful pattern?” For me it was about being angry, bitter and offended by others.

We need to bring our hurts into the light where Jesus can heal us with the truth. Jesus paid it all. No debt remains. I choose to trust that truth. That’s where freedom is.

When we accept the invitation to follow Jesus, all the sins we’ve committed or that have been committed against us were taken to the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for the sin we have all experienced.

1 John 1:9-10 ESV says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

But James 5:16 also reminds us of the power in confessing to others. Doing both brings tremendous freedom.

In my personal journey this year, I made the choice to do the work – to confess to others, to forgive. Not just for the current hurts, but also those from my past. This process, through the help of the program Forgiving Forward, brought me the freedom I was seeking.

What will you choose?

Questions:
Can you identify the emotion(s) that has/have held you captive in its lies? Can you find the truth of what God says about it, and you?

Next Steps:
Work through the steps: Notice, Name, Need, Truth, Choose. Your group or Christian friends can help you identify your emotions, and may give you ideas about what God says about them.

Choose to move towards God. If you are weighed down by anger, bitterness or resentment, consider the information at Forgiving Forward by Dr. Bruce and Toni Hebel.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I am so grateful for the ways you have helped me recognize and identify my negative emotions. Thank you for the tools you provided to help me bring them into the open. Thank you for teaching me the truth about these emotions. Thank you for helping me to forgive what you have already forgiven. In your beautiful name I pray, amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Ephesians 1:5
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

This post was written by Lauri White, an Oregon attendee, and a regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.