Effective Forgiveness

 ‘Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them’ Rom.12:14.

Are you waiting to feel better before you forgive that person who has hurt you? Guess what, satan will make sure you don’t feel better and so you never forgive, that is his job. With forgiveness, you cannot rely on how you feel because chances are you have just been hurt and the memory is still fresh. At this point in time, every feeling you have will be contrary to forgiving. Stop waiting to feel better and instead follow the example of Jesus who forgave inspite of his pain. You are not only to forgive but also ask God’s forgiveness for your offender. That man has forgiven is no guarantee that God has forgiven. If they have done something wrong to you, it is likely they have sinned before God too. This is God’s example of effective forgiveness; if you want your forgiveness to be effective, you must forgive at the point of your pain, inspite of your pain. Time does not heal; it’s only God that heals. He can heal over time or He can heal instantly because He is the Balm in Gilead. Forgiveness does not mean that the other person has won; the truth is that when you forgive you win. Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness rather it is a sign of strength. Many of us feel forgiveness means weakness; we feel that the other person has won when we forgive. The truth is that when you forgive you win. Jesus won when He forgave. Remember to forgive inspite of your pain because God requires it and it is a display of love. How many times must we forgive people who hurt us; even Peter had the same question on his mind. Jesus said seventy multiplied by seven inspite of your pain. Anyone who keeps count of how many times they forgive in a day needs to seek help. It is almost impossible to keep count; if you are able to do it then you need to be born again. Jesus is saying it does not matter, as many times as it is required, forgive. Father forgive them – let these words be on your lips. We must live the Word that we preach. You have to forgive before you ask God to forgive.

Thought: Picture the person that has hurt you the most and say Father forgive them; inspite of your hurt.