Forgiveness Begins the Healing Process
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:25
The hardest offences to forgive are committed by the people who are closest to us. Why? Because we have to live with them every day! When we’re young, our emotions are so intense that wounds and injuries may stay with us for a lifetime. The pain is worse when the one who wronged us was a parent. Perhaps a mother rejected us instead of providing the love we needed, or an alcoholic father was sexually abusive in the midnight hours. Victims of such horror may still be consumed with resentment and anger many decades later. This can cause you to ‘act out’, and hurt the people you now love and need most. What’s the answer? Forgiveness. Dr. Archibald Hart defines forgiveness as ‘giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me.’ Only when you find the emotional maturity to release those who’ve wronged you, whether they have repented or not, will your wounds begin to heal. Jesus put it this way: ‘When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’ Here’s something you may not have considered: God’s willingness to forgive you depends on your willingness to forgive others. You say, ‘But if I forgive them, I’m letting them off the hook.’ No, you’re letting yourself off the hook! You’re setting yourself free of pain and resentment, and positioning yourself to walk in God’s blessing. Leave the offence and the offender with God; He’s the only one who understands what they did and why they did it. As far as you are concerned—forgiveness begins the healing process.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me forgive others so I can be free and receive all of Your forgiveness that I so desperately need. Thank You for Your forgiveness that You paid with a price. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
I was one such a victim of sexual abuse. I know the reality of the difficulty of forgiveness for such huge things. My first step was giving it in prayer for God to handle. God worked miracles for me. He nurtured my capacity to forgive until it was big enough to forgive outright I did not do it by myself. I asked for, and received God’s power and together we forgave them.
And there no danger left to me for doing so, This is because God, my all knowing heavenly Father, can never be tricked into allowing anyone bent on evil to sneak into heaven.
Hello … I am a little confused by ythe statement “gods willingness to forgive you depends on your willingness to forgive others”. It seems to indicate that we have some sort of control over how much or how often God will forgive us based on our own behaviors regarding forgiveness. I understand that forgiving others and letting go allows us to more freely and fully experience Gods forgiveness and peace … But I am not sure His forgiving us is dependent on our willingness to forgiving others? Am I interpreting this statement incorrectly? Thanks for all you do and for your devotions that I read every morning!