Choosing a Forgiving and Merciful Attitude

Tonight I had the privilege of hearing Joyce Meyer http://www.joycemeyer.org/ speak about attitude and choosing to have a forgiving and merciful attitude. She asked several thought provoking questions. Who are you mad at? Why can’t you forgive them? And finally, what would Jesus do? We all know Jesus would forgive and show mercy.

I think sometimes it is easy to say we forgive someone, but in reality it is a lot harder to actually do it than say it. Tonight Joyce said to “stop waiting to fell like it… decide to do it! Jesus did not feel like going to the cross, he decided to do it!”

Many times I have heard, you choose your attitude. People choose to be humble and handle problems with grace. Joyce said that you can choose to have a forgiving and merciful attitude.  Sometimes easier said than done. This is something that I am working on every day. I tend to have loud faults, vs. silent faults. I do things boldly sometimes I regret those things, other times I find that I accomplish feats I never knew possible with my loud bold actions. However, I find that I struggle with being forgiving and merciful when mistakes are made or I get bad news. Many times I don’t forgive myself. Joyce said tonight “It is unnatural to be forgiving and merciful, but totally godly”.

I tend to be very analytical, to find problems so that I can work towards change. I tend to expect the worst but hope for the best. I am going to take Joyce’s advice and work on my attitude for the next 30 days. I am going to expect the best of everything. I am going to expect that Gold will do something great in my life everyday. Even if it is just the little things and I am going to BE MY BEST. I am going to choose my attitude and be forgiving and merciful towards myself and others.