Some of the best advice in God's Word encourages us to bear with each other (and our self), to forgive whatever grievances we may
have against one another (or our self), and to forgive everyone (even our self)
as the Lord forgives us (Colossians 3:13).
If we refuse to forgive others or our self, we give Satan permission to
control that part of our soul, and to inflict his demons on our body as well as
our spirit.
The devil uses pride to encourage us not to forgive. We may even build a
wall of anger around our soul to keep people out and to prevent a repeat
performance by the same or some other person.
We are so angry with the person that hurt us that we refuse to forgive, or
we do not want to admit to anyone what this person did to us. We fear that if
we forgive, we let the perpetrator "off the hook."
Satan holds us captive and the fruit of the Holy Spirit cannot manifest in
that area of our soul (2 Corinthians 2:10-11; Hebrews 12:16). We are crippled
spiritually, mentally, and emotionally; and we make unwise choices for our
life.
If we do not forgive our self or others, God cannot forgive us (Matthew
6:15). The negative emotions associated with unforgiveness block our soul from
receiving the fullness of God's love, peace and joy.
Bitterness rises from woundedness deep within our soul, and can be rooted
years back into our past. We falsely believe that resentment, anger and other
negative emotions will protect us from any past, present and future hurt.
We do not need anger and pride to protect us when
we have the King of Kings as our mighty stronghold and fortress (Psalm 18:2).
As we put our trust in Christ, we live in abiding peace and joy - not only in
our spirit, but deep within our soul as well.
Forgiveness actually takes our offender off of our "hook" and
puts them squarely on God's hook - vengeance is His, and He shall repay (Romans
12:19).
If we do not have God's abiding peace filling our soul - our thoughts,
emotions and choices - then we can ask God for it; this will prevent Satan from
deceiving our soul with his lies (Isaiah 26:3; Isaiah 30:15).
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that You hover over us and shelter us under Your wings.
This helps us to forgive past hurts, and to put future hurts into proper
perspective. We can look for the seed of a miracle in every negative
circumstance, because You promise to work out all things, even the bad things,
for our good (Romans 8:28).
We have no need to extract vengeance, because You clearly teach us that vengeance
is Yours. You promise to repay each one according to his own works (Romans 2:6).
Jesus, Your Son, set the ultimate example for us on Calvary's cross when He
forgave His tormenters and persecutors. Help us to forgive ourselves and others
and to release every painful experiences to You.
Thought for the Day:
The Bible never commands us to like someone, God
only requires that we allow Him to love each person through us; their sins and
offenses are probably defense mechanisms or they may even arise from
deep-seeded wounds just like ours.
