Good day. As always, I hope this finds you blessed.
As the title states, today's topic may help you (and me) be set free; that is my prayer anyway. Please understand that these are my Bible study notes. By no means do I know everything, but I will share what I learn. So here is what I have learned about unforgiveness and how it affects our lives and it is not pretty.
Let's start the conversation with a simple truth: unforgiveness is a trap, not for the perpetrator, but for us, the ones who may be hurt or offended. This may be common knowledge for some, but I still see many suffering with this. Matthew 18:21-35 gives us a clear picture of unforgiveness and the consequences thereof. Let's read verses 32-35 "Then the master called the servant in. "You wicked servant, he said, "I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had that mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? In anger, his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. This is God's word, not mine. I am not sure about you but I do not want to be turned over to the jailers to be tortured. Unfortantely this is exactly what happens, we get handed over to be tortured. Now, before you jump the gun and say something like a good God would not let that happen, we must consider our choices.
So now let's talk about forgiveness, what it is, and what it is not. The worldview of forgiveness would have us think that it is a form of condoning or accepting the act or acts of another and even considering forgiveness as a weakness. This my friend is pride based and a lie. Forgiveness means that we choose not to be bound by the offense, often it takes much courage to truly forgive instead of taking the accepted and expected worldly approach. It does not mean that we condone it but rather that we simply will not allow that action, circumstance, or situation to take a prominent position in our thoughts which can become life-altering. Are you curious as to how unforgiveness is life-altering? Let me tell you that unforgiveness is one of the tactics used by the thief to steal, kill, and destroy. Oftentimes it drains our peace, love, and joy leaving us bitter and angry, which can be passed down to generations. I know this to be true as I lived many years quiet angry and a bit hard-hearted. But God.
It concerns me that oftentimes, we say we forgive but in reality, we just tuck that offense away in our memory to use at a later time. We need to make sure that when we forgive someone we truly let it go, not particularly forgetting, just not letting it have a place at our table. We don't want to be stuck in the emotions that were caused by offense. If you are saying or thinking that this is easier said than done, you would not be wrong. But I tell you that when we forgive it has great benefits for us. Colossians 3:13 tells us this "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Now, let's look at how we were forgiven. Hebrews 8:12 tells us this "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." I'm not sure about you, but I am so thankful for this. Let's look at the underlined section of the verse, "Will remember their sins no more." Stop here for just a minute to look at the worldly understanding versus biblical understanding. I don't think that this means entirely forgotten, but rather that the offense, the hurt, or the anger and disappointment no longer has power over us, it no longer affects or directs our thoughts, our words, and our lives. Now, I must ask, is there something in my life that I just can't seem to let go of? This may be something I need to pray over, asking for revelation on any hidden unforgiveness. And yes, we can have hidden unforgiveness. When we choose unforgiveness we are held in that place of offense. These feelings/emotions fill our minds and take over our lives, rooting out our peace and joy. I am not trying to criticize or condemn; I am only trying to show how unforgiveness is a trap for us, not the perpetrator. Often, the person or persons do not realize that you hold anything against them, and sometimes, they don't care. Now, all the while, the subject or object of our unforgiveness is out living life, unbothered and unaffected (most of the time, but not always). Please, please do not think that in any way I am belittling anything that has taken place in your life; I truly only want to help. Unforgiveness is such a cruel trap that can have a lifelong effect on not only us but future generations. If I can get anyone to understand this, it could be life-changing.
I will end this post with this Proverbs 19:11 tells us "A man's wisdom gives him patience: it is to his glory to overlook an offense." I would like to make a statement here, I believe that too often we look at God's word as rules that we must follow in order to get to heaven, this leaves us saying and doing the right things while in our hearts we may still be far away from relationship with God the Father.
Please accept my apologies if this is a little jumbled up, with grammatical errors and/or typo's after all these are just bible study notes. I hope that you are blessed or encouraged by this. Much Love.
