Let's Talk : Why you Should FORGIVE.

Forgiveness is  a  sore spot for   a lot  of people including myself. I've wasted   years of my  life   walking around with this cloud of  unforgiveness floating above my head with no resolution.  But  I've  learned  over the years that  when  you hold on to  grudges you lock yourself into a  prison along with your pain. You may also find that you lock others out of your life who could potentially  add value to your life. .  So today I'll share with you what changed my perspective.

What Changed My  Heart? : Three things.

• The pain that I was  clutching onto served no purpose other than to  keep me stuck in time  storing the   offense in my heart.
• The other party was either unaware of the offense or simply didn't care.
• I realized  keeping  a rolodex of the event punishes me  more than  one that  caused the hurt.

Now what  actually solidified my need to  change my heart  was this  verse:

Matthew 6:14The Message (MSG)14-15 “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.

Intense  right? We all want God to  forgive us right? I don't know about you but I've have not lived a pristine life  and there are things I need to be forgiven for. So how can  I receive forgiveness  if  I  don't do my  part  in letting go of  resentment? By holding on to  a grudge we  are  essentially cutting ourselves out of forgiveness . "if you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part".  Ever read the Lord's Prayer? I've said it, you may have said it;  Remember this  part?  "Forgive us our debts as  we  forgive our debtors".   What that statement means is, God  forgive me only  to the extent that I forgive  others.

How does Forgiveness Work? :

Forgiving someone doesn't dilute the  pain that was  caused or  excuse  the one who hurt you; Forgiveness pin points the issue and actively  peruses peace with the issue instead of holding on to  it.  There is such freedom in letting go and allowing God to heal that area of your life. 

Here's  a  quote from  blog entitled Forgiveness vs. Restoration by  Rick Warren  that  helped me put things into perspective.

Let me explain what forgiveness is not. Forgiveness does not mean the instant restoration of trust. Forgiveness is instant. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Forgiveness is based on grace. Trust is built on works. You earn trust. You don’t earn forgiveness

Lastly  for those who are  still  dealing with  painful events in your life I want to encourage you to live  a free and full life. Throw  down your  burdens at the feet of the master and ask that God  fill those  gaps in your life and  and restore your broken  heart so that you may  really  LIVE  to the full without dragging  any chains from the  past. In Jesus's name -Amen


God bless you!

Love, Lesli.