Wednesday February 10, 2010 Day 10

Exploring the Depths of Forgiveness
I could write ten books on this subject, as it seems I have been having to forgive people almost since the day I was born. Now it is almost automatic. I know I MUST forgive as it only holds me prisoner to the one I need to forgive , and certainly gives them power over me if I don't.
And no one deserves to have that kind of power over you.
But I can tell you it sure hasn't always been automatic or near as easy.
I used to be very bitter and felt like forgiving was condoning the behavior. And it doesn't. But at one time you couldn't have convinced me otherwise. I felt like if I forgave a wrong , it was like saying , bring it on, come do it to me again. My unforgiveness was so bad and so all consuming that it seethed out in all areas of my life. I would not try and get revenge as I always knew the Lords sweet revenge would be much more than I could ever do , but I wasn't about to forgive you, or forget.
I had been through more in my first twenty two years than most people endure in a lifetime, and was so mad about it it effected everything that I did .
But as I became older and more mature in the Lord, I realized that I don't have a choice but to forgive, it is not an option. In Colassians 3:13 Jesus commands us to forgive if we want to follow Him. Our feelings and the consequences may linger, but our very survival depends on it.
If you try and live without forgiving you will not survive. It is essential . Otherwise we will drown in bitterness. The deeper you allow yourself to go into the ocean of bitterness, the more you will feel the pressure and the stress. Eventually the pressure will become so intense that your relationships, joy, and health will be affected.
We think if we hold on to our hurt that we are only getting back to those who hurt us but in reality we are only hurting ourselves. If we want to live our lives to the fullest, we must release the bitterness.
We exhale our anger and bitteness by being honest about our feelings , both towards others and towards God. I can tell you I haven't ever been mad at God , I knew if things were screwed up that it was surely my doing, but I sure have been mad at people.We don"t always like to admit we have been offended or hurt, pride fuels our deception, yet inside we are seething. If our anger goes unchecked, it soons becomes malignant bitterness. If you could die from bitterness I would be long gone.
We don't always like forgiving others but that is okay, it is not a feeling. We forgive because we make a conscious decision to do so. I once heard that forgiveness is to set the prisoner free and that prisoner is you.
Bitterness blocks our blessings. If you open up to God by forgiving and praying for those who hurt you , then blessing can start to flow again. Healing starts to occur in your soul.
We can't give what we haven't received. We know we have received forgiveness, but we don't really understand the depths of God's mercy, which makes it harder to forgive others. If I can understand just a little but of how much Christ loves me , it's a whole lot easier to forgive others who have hurt me.
Until you experience the fullness of God's grace and forgiveness , you will never be able to forgive others. You will never be at peace and see the vision He has for your life. You will never experience the blessings He wants to pour out on you. Forgiveness is not a shallow experience, it means digging deep.
If you only had one month to live, wouldn't you want to move beyond the shallows into the cleansing ocean of forgiveness? I know I would. When I first started forgiving , I did it for selfish reasons , The Bible says that we must forgive others, if not , our Father in heaven will not forgive us, and I sure have done things I want to be forgiven for. I also don't think forgiveness is a once in awhile experience , I think it is a lifestyle.
Make a list of the people you need to forgive. Write down the offense, what they did to hurt you , next to their name. Also write down who you need to ask forgiveness from. Ask God to help you in the coming days to enable you to forgive others as well as be forgiven.