Freedom From Guilt Through Forgiveness

"Unforgiveness is like drinking a cup of poison and hoping it hurts the other person."  These words or others similar to it are shared in many 12-step circles and are true no matter where we hear them.

Jesus taught his disciples: "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  (Mark 11:25 NIV)

These days we are looking at reasons why we live with underlying, or nagging feelings of guilt.  Today we look at the fact that we feel guilty when we refuse to forgive someone for harming us, no matter how many times we tell ourselves that we have legitimate reasons for our grudge/resentment, and the subsequent unforgiveness.

It has always been God's plan that we live without guilt.  God knows we will do wrong things and fall short but He prepares a way forward for us to move beyond the mess we make.  His way is to sort out our broken relationships with confession, forgiveness, and healing through Jesus Christ.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16 NIV)

How do we put this forgiveness into practice?

    1.  We choose to let someone “off our hook” knowing they are still “on God’s hook” until they admit wrong and seek forgiveness

     2.  We allow God to bring to the surface the mental agony, emotional pain and feelings of hurt toward those who hurt us. 

3.  We acknowledge the hurt and the hate in order to forgive from our heart. 

 4.  We ask God to touch our emotional core and to heal us and set us free from all that has wounded us.

Someone has wisely said, “When you forgive, you in no way change the past but you sure do change the future.”¹  God will help us when we make the choice to forgive. God's healing goes deeper than our deepest hurt.  Let's receive that healing today and offer forgiveness.

¹  http://www.quotessays.com/bernard-meltzer.html

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