As humans we seem to know our rights! The world teaches us that we need to be heard, to be treated in a certain way, that we are entitled to certain things. When someone hurts us, we need an apology; we need the person to know that they have hurt us; we even in some cases want compensation. The reality is though, we are not always going to get an apology; often people don’t even know that they have hurt us in the first place.

Over the last 18 months, people have said things to me that have really hurt. Usually, this has been in a professional capacity and I know that they never meant to hurt me. However, the words, the way that they were said or even the fact that they were said at all, has really cut deep. I don’t know if you are like me but if someone has upset me, the shower will be the place that I have an internal rant about it. The conversation will play over and over in my head and sometimes my imagination will go wild inventing things that may or may not be said in the future. The result of this is that I get upset and take my eyes off Jesus and on to my situation. It is an easy place where the enemy can come in and steal my joy and cause me to look inwards rather than outwards at who I can bless and show love to today.

Following a difficult telephone call last week, I was having one of my internal rants in the bathroom. All I could think about was, ‘How dare that person bring that up!’ ‘Don’t they know how difficult things are for me!’ It was then that I heard God whisper to me, ‘Drop it!’

Now I’m thinking, ‘Really God, these people need to show more respect…’

There the voice was again…’Just drop it!’

‘But, but, they just don’t understand how it feels!’

Then a humbling image came into my head. It was Jesus gasping for breath as he died on the cross for me. There came His voice again, ‘Rachel, I died for you. I forgave you. Now, drop it!’

Wow! Rant over! I had even been thinking of writing an angry letter but now I was lost for words. My Jesus bled and died for me, for everything I have ever said to hurt someone; for everything I am going to say in the future. How dare I not show forgiveness for this comparatively tiny thing!

Harbouring angry thoughts and unforgiveness is so destructive. Some situations are bound to upset us and we can’t help but think about them but we can stop our mind from dwelling on them. The Bible says that we should take captive every thought and make it obedient unto Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). I have started to repeat this to myself as a weapon every time my mind starts to wander down the wrong path. For me, this takes discipline and perseverance. I find that the enemy does not want to give up without a fight but God has given me the helmet of salvation to help me with this battle of the mind (Ephesians 6). Contrary to what the world says, I am starting to realise that I don’t need an apology or the last word, I can ‘just drop it!’ Jesus has forgiven me freely so the least I can do is the same!