April 9, 2026

What if God doesn't guide you to forgiveness?

What if God doesn't guide you to forgiveness?

It's frustrating when our Christian faith instructs us to pursue big goals, like forgiving our enemies, without providing practical steps to achieve them. This is like trying to locate a destination on a map without directions. Today's episode touches on: • wanting a clear instruction manual for prayer that gets results • agreeing that God calls us to forgive our enemies but this is much easier said than done • questioning our options when God doesn't give us step-by-step di...

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It's frustrating when our Christian faith instructs us to pursue big goals, like forgiving our enemies, without providing practical steps to achieve them.

This is like trying to locate a destination on a map without directions.

Today's episode touches on:

• wanting a clear instruction manual for prayer that gets results

• agreeing that God calls us to forgive our enemies but this is much easier said than done

• questioning our options when God doesn't give us step-by-step directions

Tell me how you feel about this episode!

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Chapters

00:00 - Welcome And The Real Question

00:06 - Why Faith Lacks Clear Steps

01:04 - Agreeing God Wants Forgiveness

02:13 - The Map And GPS Metaphor

03:35 - From Rage To Forgiveness In Real Life

04:36 - Why Would God Leave It Vague?

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.600
Welcome to today's episode of Guilt Free Faith.

00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:06.080
I am your host, Frank Legons.

00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:10.320
Wouldn't it be nice to have some instructions on how to do this stuff?

00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.439
Like you need a healing, you know, pray, pray to God for healing.

00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:15.599
Okay, well, I'm praying to God for healing.

00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:17.039
Like, I haven't got a healing.

00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:19.280
So what do I gotta do next?

00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:21.039
Do I gotta light a candle?

00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:22.480
Do I say the Lord's prayer?

00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:27.440
Do I come against Satan or the sickness or do I cast it out?

00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:34.240
Sometimes I feel goofy even asking these questions, but I know that other people have to be asking these questions.

00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:35.600
Just be honest, right?

00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:42.320
Sometimes we need something more than here's this ideal thing that it would be great if you did.

00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:43.759
Oh, well, how do you get there?

00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:45.439
Well, I don't know exactly.

00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:51.359
I mean, I just know that you kind of pray and then God will work it out in his time and he has a plan.

00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.000
And I could cite you a number of verses on that.

00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:55.119
Is that enough?

00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:59.439
Are you ever frustrated there's not an instruction manual?

00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:04.000
Something that tells you exactly what you need to do to get the result you want.

00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:11.120
The result that God would want, the result that Jesus would want, following on with this idea of forgiveness.

00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:15.519
Let's start by agreeing that God would want us to forgive our enemies.

00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:17.040
We're supposed to forgive our enemies.

00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:22.239
In the Old Testament, that's a different story on how God deals with his enemies, right?

00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:25.599
But okay, New Testament, we forgive our enemies.

00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:27.519
And yes, I want to do that.

00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:37.200
I want to do that as a Christian, I want to do that as a human being, I want to do that as somebody who also needs the forgiveness from others.

00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:45.359
I'm not oblivious to the fact that some people hurt or disappoint me, but I'm also doing that to other people.

00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:46.879
Nobody's exempt.

00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:54.159
We're all fallen humans and inflicting pain intentionally or not on one another.

00:01:54.239 --> 00:02:03.760
So at least when our blood isn't up and we're not foaming at the mouth mad, you get a sense somewhere inside you that it would be nice if you could forgive them.

00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:05.280
It would be the right thing.

00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:07.200
It would even make you feel better.

00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:11.680
It would free you from the bondage of hatred.

00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:13.120
But how do you get there?

00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:17.840
Here's my metaphor to you in terms of the question I'm asking today.

00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.960
If you are here, you know, here's the map.

00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.319
This is your life, and forgiveness is over here.

00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:25.840
X marks a spot.

00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:30.800
Now, really, what you want is a GPS turn-by-turn instruction, right?

00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:37.520
Go down Main Street, take a left, go three blocks, take a right, and this place is on your left.

00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:38.639
That's what you want, right?

00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:41.759
That's what you plug into your phone when you want to get somewhere.

00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:43.520
But let's say you're not given that.

00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:53.280
And let's say you're unfamiliar with all this territory, you're driving around in the new city, but you forgot your cell phone and you don't have a GPS, and you still need to get to this spot.

00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:54.479
So, what are you gonna do?

00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:56.080
You're gonna try all types of stuff.

00:02:56.159 --> 00:03:03.120
You're gonna wander around, you're gonna follow the sun in the east, you're gonna have people with the gas station, right?

00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:10.719
You're gonna try to buy a map, you're probably gonna get there somehow, but it's very unlikely to be this ideal path.

00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:35.520
So, continuing with this metaphor, if I was saying, hey, you need to be here at three o'clock on Friday, and you have no map, it's dark out, you don't know how to get here, and you have no no instruction from anybody, no hints, no tips of being tough on you to give you like this deadline in this mysterious location in a place you've never been to and don't know how to get to.

00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:42.960
So the metaphor I'm setting up for you is somebody just killed your loved one, or somebody just ran you off the road.

00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.080
Here you are, here, you're mad, you're angry, you're hurt.

00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:47.840
Over here is forgiveness.

00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:53.199
And okay, God, I know you want me to get to forgiveness, and I want to get to forgiveness.

00:03:53.280 --> 00:04:00.639
And my cardiologist tells me that people tend to have heart attacks that don't forgive people or that are bound up in anger.

00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:01.599
Okay, cool.

00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:03.199
I want to get there too.

00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:04.719
How do I get there?

00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.759
Oh, well, I'm not telling you how to get there, basically.

00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:12.800
I mean, you might get lucky and stumble upon that at some time or another.

00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:25.519
But just think, if I put a blindfold on you and I tell you forgiveness is way over here, way across town, you could be stumbling around for years trying to get from hate to forgiveness.

00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:27.040
It's just obvious, right?

00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:32.639
But the question that drives to the fore is why then does God do that?

00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.920
And what does he expect you to do in that case?

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We will talk more about this next time.

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Let me know what you're thinking in the comments.