DON’T LET OFFENSE KEEPING U FROM GOD’S BEST : Scripture tells us to forgive, but so many people have a hard time with it. So many people have misconceptions about forgiveness. Some people think they can’t forgive because it’s just “too difficult.” The hurt is too deep or the offense is too painful. But in reality, it’s more difficult for us when we choose not to forgive. The bitterness is not hurting the person who offended you; it is only embedding itself into your own heart and keeping you from God’s best. Bitterness and unforgiveness separate you from God. They block the flow of His blessing and hinder your prayers. But, choosing forgiveness opens the door of your heart and makes way for God to do a miracle in your life. Many people know that in 1981 my mother-in-law, Dodie Osteen, was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the liver and was told she only had a few weeks to live. No medical treatments for the disease were available at that time, and the doctors told her there was nothing they could do. She and her husband, John, went home after they heard the report, got on their knees, and asked God for a miracle. Dodie did everything she knew in order to be in the position to receive her miracle. Anytime she shares her story, she talks about how one of the main keys for her to receive God’s healing was her willingness to let go of offenses and keep her heart clean through the power of forgiveness. She tells how she wrote letters of forgiveness to people—her husband, children, parents, or anyone she could think of that she might have offended or that might have offended her. She went the extra mile to make sure her heart was free of any offense that would have blocked God’s healing in her life. It took about a year of standing and fighting through all the symptoms, but she did receive her miracle healing and is still 100 percent cancer free today. It’s important to recognize that forgiveness is more than mere words; it’s a heart attitude that induces a spiritual transformation. Sometimes we don’t necessarily feel like forgiving, but when we humbly obey God in this area, He will work a miracle in our lives. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that what the other person did was right or excusable. It doesn’t mean that the incident didn’t matter. It simply means that you are trusting God to make up the difference and allowing Him to move you past your pain into your divine destiny. I’ve heard it said that forgiveness is setting the prisoner free and then realizing the prisoner was you. You can choose freedom today by choosing forgiveness. Let me encourage you, if someone has wronged you and you still get that cringing feeling on the inside when you see or think about that person, take it to God and allow Him to keep your heart soft and sensitive. Don’t let offense keep you from His best. Instead, choose love, release it to God, and find healing through forgiveness! “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.” (Mark 11:25, AMP)
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 08:17:15 +0000
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