FORGIVENESS

Dealing with the past hurts and pains of our life, is perhaps one of the biggest obstacles we face in terms of achieving the place of peace most of us are seeking. Emotions from the past creep up invade our thoughts and hinder us from pressing forward to be all that we can be in this life. I have been to a lot places, I have met people from different continents, I have heard so many stories and one thing I have realized is that People are all the same. They are going to love you. And they are going to hurt you. It is inevitable that as we go through life people are going to hurt us. It could be your mum, dad, brother, sister, friend, pastor, teacher, husband, etc,. They can make you laugh and be the happiest person on earth. And they can make your life miserable. They can make you cry all the days of your life.

Many people have suffered as a result of other people’s actions. Some of these actions resulted in the death of a loved one, school dropout, broken heart, broken homes, wars, crisis, etc. We feel the pains, we may have our own decisions, we may decide to revenge Yet the Master says Forgive, and let it go. I know forgiveness is not easy as we profess. In fact, it is one of the toughest things to do on earth. To forgive indeed is divine. We need God’s grace to forgive with all our hearts.

Who can hurt you?

Joseph was sold by his own blood. Lucifer came against God. David had to run from his own son. Jesus was betrayed by his disciple, denied by his disciple, and his own did not receive him. Throughout history, great men and women were hurt by people they trusted, people they sacrificed for, and people they thought loved them. But the bottom line is they forgave and moved on. We are no different. People we trust will hurt us. People we love will betray us. People we sacrifice our life for will go against our will. But what we have to do is what Christ said in Mark 11:25 that when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your father in heaven may forgive you when you sin. Some friends might have hurt you, you are harboring bitterness in your heart because of what someone did yet Christ wants you to let it go. An outsider cannot hurt you. A stranger cannot make you cry.

Holding on to pain, hurt and anger does nothing but cause you stress! You are not hurting the other person by harboring these emotions. You are only hurting yourself. Give yourself the relief you deserve and forgive those who have trespassed against you.

What must be done:

People will hurt us but as God’s children we should be ready to let things go. Let us start forgiving those who have hurt us years ago. Nothing worth that the very person for whom Christ died. Remember the commandments Jesus gave; love your neighbor. Learn to love your neighbors and do good to those who hurt you. Don’t say you will do to them as they have done to you. That is not a mark of a true Child of God. I want to encourage someone today;

To go and talk to the very person he/she had promised never to talk to again.
To call the friend who betrayed him/her.
To see the person he/she just don’t want to see again.
To love the family member who hurt him/her.

Just go on and make what went wrong right. When you forgive, you bring Joy and Glory to the Father.

What happens when you find it hard to forgive?

It makes you a lair. You confess you love God but you can’t forgive your brother
It is a sign that the flesh is dominating the Spirit
It fights against your health.
It makes you weak.
It hinders prayer and act as a roadblock to prayer request.
It makes your offerings unacceptable.
It makes you feel God doesn’t forgive easily.

From today, let us be like Joseph and say “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done…” Genesis 50:20. Let’s be like David and spare the lives of those who even want to kill us. Let’s be like Jesus and say “Father, forgive them”. Let’s be like Stephen and plead for those who are hurting us daily. Let’s be like Paul, and other great men and women of God who forgave, even at the edge of sword.