God’s Word Helps Us to Forgive

‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.’ - Psalm 34:18 NLTUK  

 When we’re broken-hearted, we can stand on God’s Word. When somebody breaks our heart and betrays our trust, we’re in a vulnerable place. And the enemy will use the experience to get us to do four things that will hurt us, make us doubt our faith, and rob us of God’s blessing: 1) Isolate ourselves; 2) Lose our sense of trust so we suspect the motives of everyone we meet; 3) Cause bitterness to be deeply rooted in our hearts which impacts our relationships with our family and friends (take a look at Hebrews 12:15); 4) Make us want to get even by seeking revenge (have a read of 1 Thessalonians 5:15). But this doesn’t have to be what happens. Instead, we can stand on verses such as: ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed’; ‘I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing’ (Jeremiah 31:13 NLTUK); ‘The Spirit of the Lord has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…heal the broken-hearted…proclaim liberty to the captives…recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed’ (Luke 4:18 NKJV), ‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you’ (Ephesians 4:31-32 NLTUK). If someone has hurt us and broken our hearts, we need to forgive them. It’s often not just a one-time thing. We need to keep on forgiving them until we’re free in our minds. Forgiveness is a challenge, especially when we’re hurting. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we’ll get there. 

What Now? 

Is there someone you need to forgive? Write out a prayer to God asking Him to help you start the process of forgiving them.