Forgiveness

Forgive: to cease to blame or hold resentment against; to grant a pardon for

Forgiveness is a huge topic that can be tackled from so many different angles, so where do I even begin with what I've been processing!  Have you ever felt hate towards someone else?  Have you ever told someone how much you've hated them?  Those are stinging words to throw.  But what drives one to hate another?  When you stop & really think about it... Hate is driven by an unwillingness to forgive.  When I have a hate problem, I have a heart problem "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" Luke 6:45 (emphasis added)

When am I unwilling to forgive?  When I am angry, when I've been hurt, when I feel that I deserve some justice, when that something encroaches on what I want for myself, etc.  Did you notice the theme... WHEN I.  "But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes" 1 John 2:11.  When I won't deal with hate & anger, I am choosing to walk in darkness which gives Satan the way in to blind my eyes from God's truths. "Be angry & do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil" Ephesians 4:26-27.  The feelings of being hurt & angry are not necessarily a sin but when they prevent me from forgiving - that is a sin.

I lived a life of hating my husband for most of my life.  Early in our marriage, I was very deeply wounded by him.  We never dealt with it.  We pretended it never happened.  Our trust & peace were shattered because neither one of us were ever willing to forgive!  The sun went down on my anger day after day after day and I gave my life as an open book to the devil.  And I treated my beloved like the pain I carried every day, it was his fault and I hated him for it.  Did that work for me?  Nope.  All it did is foster in him a hatred of me.  It was a merry go round of hurt, anger, pain & betrayal.  I chose to not be obedient to God and forgive my husband.  And that was wrong and a sin not only against my husband, but most importantly offensive to God.  God has called us to forgive!  "and forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors" Matthew 6:12;  "bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" Colossians 3:13 .  Just to name a few.  In His mercy, God has revealed these areas of my life and I have since found freedom from them under His grace!  God has forgiven me and no longer sees those sins.  I give all glory to God that I no longer hate my husband.  In fact, I have never loved him more.  Letting go of that anger, hurt & unforgiveness opened a door of unconditional love that I honestly thought I would never have for him.  When I put myself aside and became willing to put him before me, Satan's foothold was gone from my life.  However, daily forgiveness is a necessary thing for me.

My life contains people that are my enemies.  They are not out for my good, in fact they are out to hurt me.  How do I keep forgiving those who sin against me in a very real way, every day?  In my flesh - it is impossible.  Every day I pray multiple times a day that God would give me a heart of compassion for those lost souls, that His Spirit would generate forgiveness within me.  Facing that every day is a strength that can only come from Him.  Why do it?  Because God tells me to "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." Luke 6:27-28.  So every day I pray for those people that one day, they may choose to put aside the hurt & anger and honestly forgive.  And that before it is too late they may have their eyes opened to their sin, that they would step out of Satan's hold on them in the darkness, and accept His forgiveness.  Trust me, it's not easy.  And sometimes I fail.  That's why I need Jesus!  But by His Spirit, He will do it in me.

So what should you do?  Forgive.  And like I said, there are a ton more verses and ways this topic can continue.  I'm already thinking of more, but I can't cover them all.  My suggestion: dig into God's word because there you will find the leading.