What Principle 8 does for us when it is properly appropriated in our lives is to help us develop a balance between reconciliation and restitution. It prepares our hearts and minds to accept the fact that this action needs to take place out of obedience, not feeling. It begins to help us practice a willingness to yield to the great hand of God. It prepares our hearts to put our trust in Him and to believe that He does want the best for us and all those in our lives. This principle will take time to develop, and the works done in faith will have the most powerful effect of all the things we’ll do. It will not only show us the power of grace in our lives, but it will show others also. Others will see the work of God in a way that they would never have believed, and they will know that there is a God when He continues to change us in a consistent manner. The change will be so profound that there will be no other explanation for the success. One day all praise will go to Him and Him alone!

Mark 11:25-26 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Compare with Matthew 6:14-15.)

We finish Principle 8 with the reminder once again that forgiveness is the most important thing that can transpire in our hearts and be given in life. In our last lesson, we read a verse that stated that if we truthfully realize how much we have been forgiven, we will not hesitate to forgive as graciously as we have been forgiven. It was about a woman who had many sins, Luke 7:47, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Principle 8 points out the need of having both our hearts and our wills lined up with God’s Word so that we can forgive completely and practice forgiving quickly. Remember, the more you practice forgiving, the better you’ll get at it. Remember, practice makes perfect. So, practice, practice, and practice!!

Principle 9 is the balance point to all the zeal that we now have developed with the fruit, progress, and the success that we see manifesting in our lives. There will be times that we will desire to be reconciled for all the right reasons and out of desires from a pure heart, but will be thwarted by the enemy, as well as the other individual’s heart. Many reasons could be listed here, but we do not have the space to list them. Suffice it to say that when these occasions arise, we must be guided by love and must be willing to yield to the interests of others, not our own. We must be willing to persevere through prayer for the desired results, even when we know that it would be the best thing to have an immediate resolution to the hurt, pain, and problem.