But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Philippians 2:13
To give forgiveness, we have to be honest and willing to forgive others. Sometimes forgiveness is instant and other times it is done in stages. Let’s take a look at some barriers that may block us from forgiving others. We are going to answer some questions on where we are at with forgiving our offenders. Pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to you on where you need to work at.
- Have you ever been hurt from being lied to, broken promises, neglected grown children, violent crime against a loved one or yourself, treated unfairly from an employer, family member, church member, leadership, etc, parents divorce, slander or falsely accused, your divorce, adultery, rejection from parents or friends, stole from, cheated in a business/financial deal, rebellious child/children, belittled, alcoholic spouse or parent, publicly humiliated, abused?
- Is there anything else that wasn’t mentioned from the above question?
- While you are reflecting on the ways you have been wronged, are any of these statements to be true?
- When I think of the offender or see the offender or hear the offender’s name, I still feel anger?
- I have a secret desire to see the offender pay for what he/she did to me?
- Deep down in my heart, I wouldn’t mind if something bad happened to the offender who hurt me?
- Sometimes I find myself telling others how the offender hurt me?
- If the offender’s name comes up, I am more likely to say something negative about the offender than something positive.
- I cannot thank God for the offender
Wow, those are some hard questions. However, be honest. We want God to help us deal with unforgiveness, so we don’t have resentment and bitterness. Also, we should want to see God’s miraculous great work at hand. Has the Holy Spirit shown you where/what you need to work on?
Have you ever had this thought, “There is no way I can forgive that person for what he/she did.” He/She hurt me too deeply. let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about the hurts that Jesus had to suffer from us. Let’s read Isaiah 53:3-7, “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers are silent, So He opened not His mouth. Now let’s read Psalm 22:6-7, 16. “But I am a worm and no man; A reproach of men and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,. . .” 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
Jot down what we have done to hurt Jesus.
Let’s read Ephesians 2:4-5. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Now let’s read Isaiah 43:25 and Hebrews 10:17 and Micah 7:18-19. How has God dealt with us who have sinned against Him?
Turn to Luke 6:27; Luke 17:3-4, and Romans 12:17-21. How does the New Testament tell us how to respond to our offender who has wronged us?
What should the standard of our forgiveness be according to Colossians 3:13?
When is the offense too great to forgive?
Do you think God would command us to do something that He would not be able to enable us to do?
Now according to Philippians 2:13, how are we enable to forgive?
Join me tomorrow as we finish learning how to choose the path of Forgiveness.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for not letting us have to figure things out on our own. Thank you that we can find the answered in your word. I pray that each of us will keep our hearts humble and work on our forgiveness to others.
In Jesus Name
Amen
