Forgivenessනියැදිය

After my time of intense prayer and repentance, the world felt strangely new, and I loved it!

The clarity with which I could see things all around me was undeniable. It was as though someone had turned on the lights of my soul.

Just like the glowing wire of a lightbulb, Christ is the current that ignites the filament within us. And then He fills us with the light of life—vibrant and wonderful, pushing the darkness out.

Your debt has been paid in full by the blood of Jesus. When you put your trust in Jesus, His righteousness becomes yours. All records of your sin have been erased.

And, because our debt of sin is forgiven, we can forgive others as well. We can extend that same grace to those around us.

But… it’s pretty easy to make excuses to not forgive others.

You might find yourself thinking…

“Well, this person didn’t apologize to me, so why should I forgive them?!”

Well, I’ll tell you this…

Romans 5:8 says..

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

We didn’t apologize for our sins before Jesus died on the cross in our place, did we? If God Himself did not make us earn our forgiveness, what right do we have to place conditions on the forgiveness we offer others?

You might wonder…

“But this person has let me down so many times. Why should I keep forgiving him?”

Peter had that same question, you might remember, in Matthew 18. He asked Jesus, “How many times would I need to forgive the same person?” He thought, Seven times…that would be a good limit. But Jesus said, No, seventy times seven! In other words, just keep on forgiving.

God forgives us over and over, and He wants us to do the same for others. This doesn’t mean you need to trust someone when you know they’ll probably hurt you again. But it does mean you need to forgive them.

Have you ever been in a situation where forgiveness felt impossible?

Maybe you’ve suffered abuse, trauma, deep pain. If something like this happened to you, I am so sorry. And my heart aches for you.

I want to pause and acknowledge that if this is your situation, you experienced a profound evil, and nothing about it is okay.

God is also grieving with you and He wants to free you from harboring hatred that will further damage your heart. You can be free of that bitterness and hate that color your view of life. And it does not mean you’re excusing the wrongs done to you. Ask Him to help you, little by little, to heal you from past wounds. Forgiving can be a part of that healing process and can take many years. I know God will care for you tenderly in the process.

We cannot do this on our own strength. We need God’s presence and power to help us. He makes the impossible possible.

Will you pray with me? This is from Psalm 34.

Lord, I know You hear us when we call to You for help. You rescue us from our troubles. You are close when we feel brokenhearted. You are the one who saves us when our spirits are crushed.

I can’t do this on my own, Lord. Help me. Forgive the people who have hurt me the most. In Jesus’ name. Amen.