Sometimes we need to forgive people who hurt us, sometimes we need to forgive people who hurt people we love, sometimes we need to forgive ourselves. How to Forgive Would you like to become more successful at forgiving others? There are practical steps that must be taken. One time I asked the Lord why so many people want to forgive but arent successful doing it. And He said, Because they arent obeying what I tell them to do in My Word. As I searched the Word, I found the following instructions: 1. Decide – You will never forgive if you wait until you feel like it. Choose to obey God and steadfastly resist the devil in his attempts to poison you with bitter thoughts. Make a quality decision to forgive, and God will heal your wounded emotions in due time (see Matthew 6:12-14). 2. Depend – You cannot forgive without the power of the Holy Spirit. Its too hard to do on your own. If you are truly willing, God will enable you, but you must humble yourself and cry out to Him for help. In John 20:22-23 Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, Receive the Holy Spirit! His next instruction was about forgiving people. Ask God to breathe the Holy Spirit on you so you can forgive those whove hurt you. 3. Obey – The Word tells us several things were to do concerning forgiving our enemies: a. Pray for your enemies and those who abuse and misuse you. Pray for their happiness and welfare (see Luke 6:27-28). As you pray, God can give them revelation that will bring them out of deception. They may not even be aware they hurt you, or maybe theyre aware but are so self-centered that they dont care. Either way, they need revelation. b. …Bless and do not curse them (Romans 12:14). In the Greek to bless means to speak well of and to curse means to speak evil of. You cant walk in forgiveness and be a gossip. You must stop repeating the offense. You cant get over it if you continue to talk about it. Proverbs 17:9 says that he who covers an offense seeks love. Who Should Forgive? Forgive the person who badly hurt you long ago and also the stranger who stepped on your toe in the grocery store. Take those two extremes and forgive them in addition to everyone in between. Forgive quickly. The quicker you do it, the easier it is. Forgive freely. Matthew 10:8 says, …Freely you have received, freely give. Forgive means to excuse a fault, absolve from payment, pardon, send away, cancel, and bestow favor unconditionally. When you forgive, you must cancel the debt. Do not spend your life paying and collecting debts. Hebrews 10:30 says that vengeance belongs to the Lord; Hell repay and settle the cases of His people. Let God pay you for past injustices. Do not try to collect from the people who hurt you, because the people who hurt you cant pay you. Also, forgive yourself for past sins and hurts you have caused others. You cant pay people back, so ask God to. Forgive God if you are angry with Him because your life didnt turn out the way you thought it should. God is always just. There may be things you dont understand, but God loves you, and people make a serious mistake when they dont receive help from the only One who can truly help them. You may even need to forgive a situation or an object—the post office, bank, a certain store that may have cheated you, a car that always gave you trouble, etc. Get rid of all poison that comes from bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. And remember Proverbs 4:23: Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance... for out of it flow the springs of life. Unforgiveness is spiritual filthiness, so get washed in the water of Gods Word to forgive and stay clean. joycemeyer.org/articles/ea.aspx?article=the_poison_of_unforgiveness
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 14:07:20 +0000
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