The Emerging Beast

Someone has said that harboring hurt and unforgiving is like drinking acid and hoping it kills the other person. Holding on to bitterness and resentment is extremely destructive to our inner well-being.

Forgiveness is the key to being set free from those shackles and experiencing God's grace. The cross of Jesus Christ and His atoning work for the forgiveness of sin is a central facet of growing who you are and the healing process. Paul elevated the importance God gives forgiveness in Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."

To be fully free, sometimes we need to extend a deeper level of forgiveness to the one who has wounded us. One level is to forgive someone who hurt us for what he or she did. An even deeper level is to forgive that person for the effects and long-term consequences of those acts.

It's important to consider four areas related to forgiveness: forgiving others for what they have done or failed to do, forgiving ourselves for what we have done or "allowed" to happen, forgiving God for allowing the wounding to happen to us, and asking for forgiveness from those we have hurt.

I know all of this is really scary. I will admit, this is the area that I need tremendous work in, and this is why I am writing this post, not because I think I know it all or I am perfect, but to let you know how it feels to have someone right by your side. I still have not forgiven my dad fully for what he did to our family five years ago, and I do not know when I fully will. It might be tomorrow or ten years from now, but I am asking God for the strength to removes these shackles.

I challenge you to take some time today to write down who you need to forgive, and the reasons they have hurt you emotionally or physically or both. Then, I want you to talk to God to give you the mercy and strength to mend this relationship because you can not do it alone.

XOXO

Joslyn

#forgiveness #faith #hurt #grace #sin #religion #God