Mark 11: 25 Amp “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him (drop the issue, let it go), so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings (against Him and others).
Forgiveness is the act of forgiving someone. It is the attitude of someone who is willing to forgive other people (Webster’s Dictionary).
Forgive is to release, let go, cancel a debt and all punishment.
After working in Healing and Deliverance Ministry for many years, one thing that I have learned is that unforgiveness is one of the biggest and most common blockages to healing and deliverance. As a matter of fact, RT Kendall wrote in his book Total Forgiveness, that unforgiveness was the major reason why people do not heal.
It takes supernatural strength and ability to be able to forgive someone completely. We need to pray daily for the grace to forgive. Forgiveness should be a lifestyle. We should be prepared to forgive without limits. Matthew 18:22 tells us we must forgive someone as many as seventy times seven (490 times). Whether we like it or not offenses are going to come. Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 17:1a “It is impossible that no offenses come,.
Forgiveness does not excuse the offender’s behavior, but it prevents their behavior from destroying our hearts. Forgiveness is for us and our freedom. It is up to us to forgive from our hearts and it is a choice that we must choose to make on a regular basis. Forgiveness is a command, a choice, and an act of obedience, not a feeling. Forgiveness carries with it the sense of release, of the person and the pain that the person caused, to be released to God for Him to work in their lives, getting us out the way of His working in their lives. Forgiveness is giving up our right to get revenge (James 1:20- because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires).
I was watching a movie the other week called the Shack. The title “Shack” itself is a metaphor- the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you get damaged, it’s the thing where shame and hurt is centered .The movie is a story of a man that took three of his children on a camping trip. On the last day of their trip the two older kids were flipped out of a boat and the father ran to their rescue. While rescuing them, the youngest daughter went missing. It was later determined that she was abducted and murdered by a serial killer. Over the years unforgiveness and bitterness settled into this fathers heart and he began to pull away from his family until one day he received an invitation to the shack (believed to be the place his daughter was murdered). Curious as to who sent the letter he decided to go the shack and there he had an encounter with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He was able to forgive everyone he needed to forgive including his abusive father and the person who murdered his daughter. Although this is a fictional story it is a powerful testament as to how we are to forgive no matter the offense.
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and there is some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies”. Martin Luther King, Jr.
If we aren’t careful unforgiveness will turn us over to the tormenters, the demons of resentment, anger, bitterness, hatred, violence, etc., keep us in bondage to depression and other health problems and keep God from forgiving us -Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others (nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God), then your Father will not forgive your trespasses”. Unforgiveness is poison and can seep out into our life and in our relationships. Pastor and Author Wayne Cordeiro says “unforgiveness is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die”.
It’s funny how we all want justice for ourselves but not justice for others. Maya Angelo said “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody”. Maybe it’s time for us to take a deep look inward. Are we harboring unforgiveness and bitterness toward someone, our self, or God? It is time to let it go. It is time to be set free! I never knew how strong I was until had to forgive someone who wasn’t sorry and accept an apology I never received” anonymous.
Lord, open my eyes, let me see my glorious future. Let me see myself strong, healthy, powerful, and forgiving. Thank you, Father. Amen!
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