Glory in Our Sufferingsنموونە

Forgiveness: I know this one is hard to even read, let alone do. I challenge you to read on. You have made it this far; you can do this! I know there are some of you who carry around baggage that includes hurt, betrayal, anger, loss, and grief from what people have done to you. Trust me, I know that you feel justified in your anger, but what you don't realize is that those things are debilitating you from moving forward with God. Those things are hindering your walk with God. You cannot move forward and still carry the past with you. Let your mind and your heart be transformed and renewed by him! I will speak this next revelation with such authority that I know set me free from that mindset, and I know God wants to set you free, too. As you can imagine, I was in every way justified in my anger toward many people and many things. At some point, you have to let what Jesus did on the cross for you be bigger than what someone did to you. I have to let what Jesus did on the cross for me be bigger than what my abusers did to me. One night, I was exhausted and decided to take a drive and worship in my car. On my way back home, the lord challenged me and put it on my heart to forgive all those who had hurt me. I pulled over because I knew this one was going to be a hard one. He had me name each abuser by name and forgive them one by one, from the beginning at age five until the very end. For example, it was: “I forgive __________ for doing __________ to me.” It was extremely hard, and when it got to the part of forgiving the men who had purchased me, I was bawling. Afterward, my soul felt lighter, I didn’t realize the weight I was carrying until God asked me to put it down. Jesus was a perfect, sinless half-man and half-God. He took all our sins and transgressions and endured the most unimaginable painful death. The flesh on his back was torn wide open by 40 whip lashes. 39 was enough to kill a man. Then he carried a heavy cross, all while being bruised and hurt. On that very cross, he was nailed by his hands and his feet. A crown of thorns on his head, his blood poured out for you and me. The guards that were assigned to torture him spat on him and made fun of Jesus. How did Jesus respond to this? Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Forgiveness does not mean that we have to trust someone again. It just means that we can’t hold grudges because, essentially, it’s like poison in our hearts. God has called us to live a life of freedom and not anger or bitterness. You made it to the end! I pray that you were able to use these bible verses and tools to walk in freedom, joy, and peace.