Forgiveness

Life at times can be kind of rough. Especially when people slight us some way. (And I'm putting that lightly.) Most of the time when people do us wrong it usually rolls off our back or it's not that big of a deal and we are easily able to forgive and forget and move on. But it is the times when the hurt comes from a close friend or a loved one that we have higher expectations of. Those are the times when we get hurt the most.

As Christians we are obligated to forgive others. That's right,...I said obligated. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our savior, we made a commitment to Him to follow Him and His commands. Now if you are a person with deep hurt it may be hard for you to read that. But this is key to our healing.

I have been hurt very deeply as I know most everyone has at one time or another. The hurt for me came from various Christians. The reason it hurt is because I naturally had a higher expectation of Christians thinking that they were going to act like Christ when in reality they acted like the devil. Some times people in church can be very hateful. Maybe they don't realize what they are doing. But hate is one element of witchcraft. Maybe it's something I did to them unknowingly, and now they are getting their revenge? Who knows. Now how am I supposed to deal with the hurt? What is the hurt? Where does it come from?

Hurt or pain is a sign of communication that the body is telling us, that something is wrong. In this instance it is unforgiveness which if not dealt with can become bitterness. And bitterness can kill us!

The problem is if the hurt is real deep it can mess with our emotions making it nearly impossible to forgive. This was the devils goal in the first place, why he used a Christian or friend to hurt us. We cannot go on holding a grudge against others. So how do we forgive when we don't feel like it?

Here is an important scripture to remember:
" 25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. -Mark 11:25-26

...Your Father which is in heaven will NOT forgive you if you don't forgive others! ...ouch!
Well, I want God to forgive me of my sins, so I better find a way to forgive those people that hurt me. Even though I may feel like getting revenge on them, I must not. Here are two ways to help you forgive in an impossible situation:

1) Remember that your sins that you did put Jesus on the cross! You were guilty of sins, and your sins crucified the Son of God! The things that people did to you might hurt you deeply, but you are not crucified to a cross by what they did to you. If Jesus could forgive you for what you did to him, then you need to forgive others!

2) Forgiveness is a choice! In an emotionally impossible situation you CAN forgive. We do this by faith not by feelings. Despite the excruciating pain that can be caused by hurt in some instances, we can make a decision to forgive that person by faith.

Your prayer can go something like this: Father, in Jesus' name, I choose by faith to forgive so and so. This is just a little example. Your actual prayer may be longer. Then you could receive healing for the hurt. These two things have helped me tremendously. If you know somebody who is experiencing a lot of pain or hurt, please share this with them. And God bless you! Here are a couple of more scriptures for you to remember:

"36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." -Luke 6:36-38

And another:
"31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." -Ephesians 4:31-32

Acts 16:30,31

"30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." -Acts 16:30,31