The Power of Forgiveness

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 6:14

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Mark 11:26

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

1 Peter 3:9 NLT

Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.

John 16:33

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

TO FORGIVE

~ to cease to feel resentment against an offender

~ to give up resentment of or claim to requital

~ to cancel a debt

I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY DID THAT TO ME!!

Unforgiveness will take over your life if you let it. Holding on to offences or perceived offences will cause a root of bitterness to grow in your heart. If you don't forgive and allow God to deal with your pain anger, you’ll stunt your own growth and will remain at the same emotional maturity you were at when you were hurt.

Most people think that forgiving someone means that they're justifying that person’s actions. No! You forgive for you! You do it for your own good, your own sanity, your own peace and your own growth. You do it because God commands you to! Remember that you give the reigns of your life to the one you refuse to forgive. Their offence will colour everything you do and give way to suspicion and paranoia. You'll start to distrust everyone around you and judge their motives

Stop! Stop making innocent people pay for the mistakes of a few bad apples. Give your pain to God. Before you start listing all the reasons why they don’t deserve your forgiveness, pause and think about the fact that you did not deserve God’s forgiveness. I thank God that grace does not require merit! He is patient, long-suffering and merciful. In His love, He forgives, forgives and forgives some more.

Withholding forgiveness in wait of an apology may be an exercise in futility because that apology may never come. Most of us wait until the person who hurt us proves that they are worthy of forgiveness but is that really what forgiveness is? God doesn’t tell us to forgive others only if they are sorry. No, He simply commands us to forgive!

Matthew 6:14 says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. You can't ask for something you're not willing to give. Remember that even though you're the victim in some situations, you were also the offender in others. We must extend the same grace and mercy that we want to receive. I carried unforgiveness in my heart for months. I would think about what people had done to me and I'd get angry everyday. I adopted a victim mentality that kept me in self pity for wayyy too long. It started with a preoccupation with the wrong that was done to me. And pretty soon, that planted a seed of bitterness in my heart to the point that all I wanted was for God to make them pay. For months, I'd open my Bible to read the word and I would find myself distracted, thinking about how I had been hurt. One day, I went to church and the preacher that day was talking about forgiveness. He spoke about how unforgiveness can block your blessings, deter your destiny and even open a door for sickness into your life. He talked about unforgiveness and how it snowballs into bitterness and I was CONVICTED and my eyes were opened. I had gotten to the place where I didn't even realise that I was living in unforgiveness. That day, I made the conscious decision to let the offences go. I felt such release as I prayed, like a heavy weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I finally had peace again. What a difference forgiveness made in my life! Immediately, God worked on my behalf and turned that situation around. You don't have to suddenly transcend this world and become an emotionless drone. Forgiveness is not a denial that you have been hurt, it is a choice to not hold a person's wrong against them. It is a choice to acknowledge that hurt and allow God to heal you and restore your heart instead of becoming bitter. As I'm writing this, I'm no longer angry. I feel free and most importantly, I do not regret nor am I resentful about what this year has brought my way. Often times the persons we refuse to forgive have moved on with their lives and are happy but we are filled with bitterness, holding onto things that happened sometimes 5, 10, even 15 years ago.

When you make the choice to forgive, you bury that offence and choose not to hold it against that person. Every time it comes to you mind, you leave it in the graveyard of sins. Make the choice not to dig up that offence and try to revive it. We are called to forgive like God forgives. He has given us a template and He says, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25) How long will hold onto your hurt?

It’s important to understand that reconciliation is not integral to forgiveness. You can forgive someone and choose not to have them in your space anymore. I'm not saying that you should be easily offended or cut people off for the smallest thing but there are some who have proven time and time again that they mean you no good. Forgive them and choose not to hold that wrong to their charge but do some maintenance on your relationships. Trim the weeds from your garden, my friend.. A big part of the reason we find it hard to forgive others is because we also find it hard to forgive ourselves. We ask for forgiveness and God forgives us and forgets about that offence but we go and dig it up to stew in regret and condemnation. Let it go. God has. When we truly recognise and walk in the grace of God, we can't help but extend mercy to others. We don't have to stoop to the level of our enemies in an attempt to bring them down or clear our name. If we will refuse to be offended, humble ourselves and seek God's face, not only will we gain perspective on why we're going through the test that we're going through, we will see the hand of God work salvation for us, even in the midst of false accusation and slander. Remember, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord”.

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. (Psalm 27:5-6)

William McDowell has a song that says,

“Falling on my knees,

I bow, bow down

Some things,

Some things I can't see until I bow

There are some things I can’t see

until I bow

I can see clearly now,

Here on my knees

I understand better now,

Here on my knees”

As the song above says, "I can see clearly now I'm on my knees. I understand better now, here on my knees." Make no mistake, prayer will give you perspective in a difficult situation! In Psalm 27, David was confident that God would keep him safe even in the midst of his enemies. He was assured of it and not only that, he knew that his head would be exalted above his enemies. I believe that David understood that God would give him PERSPECTIVE in the midst of attack. You can do the same. Acknowledge God as your Strong Tower. His name is your place of refuge from your enemies.

Sometimes God will take us out of the difficult situation but can we thank Him even when He doesn’t? Because I guarantee you, there’s a lesson to be learnt in your pain. There is ALWAYS purpose in pain and something to be gained from a trying circumstances. All we have to do is bow and God will show us the treasure that is being formed in us even in the heat of our trials.

David understood that perspective was found in the presence of God and he knew that God was faithful to deliver him. He declared that he would SACRIFICE with shouts of joy unto the Lord. He could rejoice because he knew the end of the matter would be better than the beginning.

I challenge you to do the same! Recognise that God can give you perspective in the middle of chaos so that you can grab hold of lessons that will last you a lifetime and allow God to chisel off of you everything that is not like Him. So kneel, bow, whatever you need to do but most importantly, pray! Pray that God gives you the strength to forgive and allow Him to cultivate the necessary fruit in your life to make you like Him.

Verbal confession: I forgive ____________ for _______________________. I release them from my heart. I will walk in forgiveness toward them.