A Bitter Disease Called Unforgiveness
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"Your Faith is a Terrible thing to Waste" ( A Story about Faith and Hope) As they were walking down the road one day they met at a crossroad called Key Corner. Faith told Hope, “ to meet him on the other side of the Jordan River because there were some people he needed to talk with on the Riverbed.” As Faith started on his journey a couple of miles down the riverbank he saw Misery setting on a log all by himself. He yelled, “Hey, Misery! Why are you sitting out here all alone? Misery said, “I’m waiting on my company because you know misery loves company.” Faith told him, “You don’t need any company.” He said, “All you need is a lil’bit of faith, so come on and go with me.” As Faith and Misery walked down the riverbank they saw Depression standing by, just watching the water. Faith yelled out, “ Hey D! What are you doing out here all by yourself?” He said, “I was contemplating on going into the river and letting the current take me under because there’s no hope for me and no one cares.” He said, “My wife filed for a divorce, I lost my job, my home, and my children, so there is nothing left for me. I am now homeless and no one wants to take me in. My friends have deserted me. When I was helping them it was okay, but no one can help me now. Faith said, “All you need to do is trust me by having a lil’bit of faith, so come on and go with me.” Well Faith, Misery and Depression went on down the riverbank. Depression looked to his right and he said, “That look like Suicide sitting out there all by himself.” Misery asked, “What that he’s pointing at his head?” Faith said, “It’s a gun and he’s getting ready to kill himself.” Faith yelled! Hey Susee! What are you getting ready to do with that gun? He said, “I am getting ready to take my life. He said, I used to be a Pastor of a large congregation and I’ve disappointed everybody. Being the backbone for everybody, I had lots of money and a good job. I got caught up in drugs and alcohol and I can’t find my way back. So the best thing for me to do is to take my life.” Faith told him, “No, I can’t let you do that because there is hope for you. All you need is a lil’bit of faith, so come on and go with me.” As Faith, Misery, Depression and Suicide traveled on down the riverbank they saw a woman by a small grave just weeping. Suicide asked Faith, “What do you think is wrong with her? Look at her eyes. They are black and blue. What about that small grave? It looks like a child's grave!” Faith said, “She buried her child some months ago due to domestic violence. The little girl went to her mother and told her that the boyfriend had been molesting her. The mother didn’t believe her. When the mother confronted her boyfriend about it, a violent fight broke out between the two of them. The little girl jumped in the middle to try to stop the fight and the boyfriend killed her. Now the mother blames herself for her daughter’s death.” Misery, Depression and Suicide asked Faith, “Could he help her?” He said, “All she need is a lit’bit of faith. Woman, come on and go with me.” So you see, it doesn’t matter what you are going through, there is hope for you. God said that: "He will never leave us nor forsake us." By: JoAnne Smith Hooks
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About the Book
The Bible says, “Do unto others as you will have them to do unto you.”
“A Bitter Disease Called Unforgiveness” calls to you to check for bitterness in your heart, toward anyone about anything, and let it go. Bitterness will take a toll on you as though parasites are eating away every organ in your body, at a slow pace.
When author JoAnne Smith Hooks battled cancer thirty years ago, she lay in a hospice unit waiting to die, and finally came to a conclusion that the disease stemmed only from bitterness. Molested at the age of thirteen and turning to alcoholism by sixteen years of age, JoAnne knew her pain was the root of her illness, and if she didn’t kill that root, it would definitely kill her. So she let it go and forgave.
She seeks to encourage you to do the same, strip yourself of all the bitter roots and let go of the pain. If you don’t the “unforgiveness” will steal your joy, destroy your peace, and override your love.
About the Author
JoAnne Smith Hooks holds a master’s degree in theology. A native of Marianna, Arkansas born to a family of twenty siblings, she is the tenth child of sharecropper-parents, Wesley and Willie Mae Smith.
At the age of seven, she cried out to God and sought answers about her education. She was permitted to go to school on the rainy days only because she had to work alongside her parents in the cotton-fields.
When she was eleven years old, she heard the voice of the Lord, but she did not understand the call at that time. She fully surrendered her life to the Lord at a noonday prayer meeting, seventeen years later, when she heard the voice of God once again. God then sent Jesus to lay hands upon her and He told her, “I have anointed you to preach the gospel.” Not once, but twice in that same hour, hands were laid upon her and she was filled with the Holy Ghost all in one day!
She rejoiced: “What a glorious experience, a day I will never forget!”