Forgiveness

    There have been many times where I have felt the Holy Spirit move, where I have been led to tell someone that they should forgive someone who has offended, mistreated, or hurt them. Different people, different situations, different severities of offense - and all of them I've been commissioned to give them the word that in order for them to have peace in their lives and that situation, that they have to forgive. Most of them have looked at me like I suddenly turned blue and sprouted wings. One person didn't talk to me again after I told them to forgive, they outright avoided me because the message of forgiveness was such an uncomfortable and even unfair concept to them. Mercy and forgiveness do not come easily to our offended hearts. But, there have been some, very few, who have acknowledged that the message of forgiveness was a true and right one.

    Is there someone or something that you have not yet forgiven? How about yourself? Have you been able to forgive something that you yourself has done? The Lord has really (and I mean really) been impressing upon my heart, my thoughts, my mind....to forgive and to tell others to forgive. We aren't guaranteed a single moment of our life and Scripture clearly tells us that unless we forgive, how can we expect to be forgiven? If we don't show mercy, how can we expect to be shown mercy?

But if you do not forgive men their trespasses,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

- Matthew 6:14-15

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

- Matthew 5:7

    I ask the Lord to not only reveal hidden sin in my life, but to bring my attention to anything or anyone that needs the freedom of forgiveness. And He does.... Oh yes, He does. Sometimes it hits me when I least expect it and other times it comes immediately, before I even finish praying. Case in point, I prayed that prayer yesterday while praying for something else. A couple of hours later, I was on Facebook scrolling through feeds and then it hit me. I was commenting on a post and the Holy Spirit gently, but loudly nudged me and said "Hey, did you read what you just wrote? Read it." I read it (before hitting enter) and gasped. Right there in front of me was an offense that I had not forgiven. I had been about to post a comment commiserating how someone I respected had said something to me that broke my heart. They had offended me in a way that I was blindsided and deeply, deeply hurt. It has been many months now since it was said to me and though I never forgot about the hurtful comments by that person, I had moved on. In fact, I don't even think that person ever realized they had said something hurtful or that how they had treated me was shameful. I had dusted off my feet, unfollowed them, and moved on, or so I thought.

    My whole feeling and mindset as I had been typing out that comment was one of renewed hurt and finger-pointing. The spirit of offense was coming to visit all over again, despite having prayed for them. I immediately deleted what I had written and ex'd out of Facebook altogether. I sat there at my desk and prayed that 1: God forgive me for not forgiving them and 2: I confessed that I wanted to forgive them. To please give me that ability that only comes from the Holy Spirit, to forgive - truly forgive them. I pray that the Lord fill me with peace - a final kind of peace that can only be felt when forgiveness and repentance has just happened.

    Will I ever receive an apology from them? There's a slim chance of it, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all. What matters is that with the Lord's help, I can forgive them and truly move on - loving them as a brother and sister in Christ. I want to reach that place where I can see them and not remember the hurt. I want to live my life, without fear of them (or anyone else for that matter) hurting me again. Does it mean I keep following them or interacting with them? No. Some things are best left in the past, for everyone's sake. But, it does mean that we can both go our separate ways until we are caught up with Christ together in the end. May we all worship Christ together!

    It truly does us zero good to harbor grudges and hurt of any kind. Yes, we preach that we should forgive those who trespass against us - but typically we think only of the little offenses. We tend to make an exception to the forgiveness rule when it comes to the big offenses: such as sexual crimes, murder, adultery, even narcissists. But again, what does God say? He says to forgive. Not just once, but seventy times seven! (Matthew 18:22) It does not matter what that person/group/whoever did to us, is doing to us, or will do to us.....we are called to forgive them. We are not called to continue having a relationship with them, pretending as if nothing is or has been wrong. We are called to love them, and one way to love our enemies.....is to forgive them. Don't allow Satan to win the battle by refusing to forgive the ones who hurt you the most.

    Many people can't forgive because they just cannot let go of seeing justice served. They cry out for vengeance and justice, they demand blood, but they forget from Whom justice comes. Don't worry about justice, allow justice to be led by the Lord. He sees and He knows....don't think He will turn a blind eye to that person's offenses, trespasses, and iniquities.... (Romans 12:19) And when justice is served, when legal courts or natural consequences rule the day, don't celebrate, don't rejoice. Instead, you should pray for that person and you pray hard with all of your heart. Pray that they realize their sin and repent! Pray for repentance! Pray that they come to Christ and are redeemed! Pray that they come to hate wickedness and this world and instead, follow Christ in righteousness! Always remember...someone somewhere prayed for you, forgave you, showed you mercy. Let that sink in a minute. None of us have lived our lives free of offending or seriously hurting others.

    I know that what I am saying is a hard pill for many to swallow. It truly is. It goes against every fiber of our being to pray for and forgive demon-possessed murderers, narcissist spouses (or ex), racist co-workers or neighbors, or anyone who commits crimes and offenses that should receive the utmost justice and punishment. I'll be honest, it's downright difficult to forgive people who hurt us. It's downright difficult to show mercy. And I've had a very long list of offenses against me by others. Yet, not once by harboring unforgiveness and grudges, have I ever been at peace. In fact, I never even understood what it truly meant to forgive until just a few years ago. The difference is night and day.

    Anyways, back to my point. We need to forgive. It's not a suggestion in Scripture, it's a requirement (Mark 11:25). And I will tell you this, you cannot, I repeat, cannot.....forgive with your own strength most of the time. The strength to truly forgive as well as surrender justice to the Lord, only comes from the Holy Spirit. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, for the battle is His. And this is a battle that we all face at one point or another, if we haven't already.

    So can you, will you forgive? Can you show mercy to someone who, in your opinion and possibly others', doesn't deserve mercy? Are you willing to go to the Father and ask Him to reveal to you areas or people in your life that need forgiveness? Are you willing to allow the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to forgive so that you can finally have peace in that area of your life?

Have a blessed day my friends!