Recieving Forgiveness

Even though we all want to be forgiven,pride often stands in the way of asking for it.We would rather carry the guilt rather than admit our failure.With this comes rebellion and self-centeredness,and eventually self-destruction.Sin seeps in, only to find things getting deeper in despair and enduring more bitterness.
The solution to this kind of feeling is to be able to look people in the eye and feel no shame.Write,call or talk to every person who we think we have hurt and ask them to forgive.This can be done only when we surrender our will to God and acknowledge the seriousness of the matter.At times like this intimacy with God seems a remote possibility.But our God is a loving God who loves to listen.The purpose of making amends is not to make ourselves feel better,especially at the expense of others,it is to obey Jesus and change the direction of our lives.There is a wonderful Golden Rule when seeking forgiveness:Don't intrude on the life of someone you've hurt,even to make restitution,if you wouldn't want the person to the same to you under the same circumstances.
Whatever it is,we should not be surprised that it is difficult.If it were easy,we probably would have done it before now.But it must be done,not only for the sake of those injured,but for our own spiritual well-being.