How Forgiveness Impacts Your Future
How does your future look? It is like a breath of fresh air or more like the stock market; not so good? Your future will have a different look to it simply based upon forgiveness. Your future delivered through forgiveness will tell the world where you are and where you are going. Easy as that. So the question is what do you want your future to look like? You can get the better future and through forgiveness what your future will never be the same.
What does this mean? It means that you may be at a fork in the road; and you may or may not know it. If you are like me; I had no idea! I had no clue 1) that I had unforgiveness, 2) how to deal with it, 3) the impact it would have, 4) that it would be the deliverance that I needed, 5) that a forgiveness and deliverance ministry would have been born out of it. This is what you don’t know when you live in unforgiveness. You can’t know. You can’t know what you need to know because what you need to know is blocked because you haven’t yet removed it and been healed and delivered. And that is what is keeping you from your real future. Of course it is inclusive of the entire future that God created you for in the first place.
Bottom line is this: if you are sick and tired of being sick and tired it’s time to get real. It’s time to stop playing church. It’s time to stop pretending everything is fine. It’s time to stop placating the message of forgiveness. It’s time to get the fact that unless you deal with it; your future will look like your past. It cannot look like anything else. I am not saying this because it’s funny; but because it’s what I lived. And for far too long!
What it is time for is to be honest, to look in the mirror, to humble thyself and to go before God and ask of Him: “What unforgiveness and it’s symptoms do I have? What in its entirety must I repent of? To whom do I need to forgive?” It is time to get the revelation that unless you understand it in full that there are almost ’40’ symptoms you may have one or two; or if you are like me I had them all and didn’t know it! It’s time to get that your future is waiting for you and it’s up to you to do something about it.
When and only when you grasp that your future is based upon the level of forgiveness you choose will your life change. It is only when you grasp that reality that you were created for more than what you are probably living right now and that on the other side of unforgiveness is where it is then you can be moving toward the life and its abundance. It’s only when you recognize that Christ died so that you don’t have to live in the wreckage and bondage of life that you can be healed and delivered. It’s when you step up and take the reigns of obedience to Christ will your future come forth and in big ways.
It is when you are on your knees before the Most Holy One being real that you are in fact a sinner and that you are ready for healing, deliverance and forgiveness to reign that your life will change. For me it was two full days of it. I cried the entire time because the pain of my past was so wretched. The horrific things that happened to me I couldn’t bear- and I didn’t have to! You see He died for me. And He died for you too. I was healed and my soul was restored. I was reunited with the Father in the ways unimaginable. My eye color and my voice changed! And this ministry came forth so that you too can be free, delivered and healed through the message of forgiveness. Think about the lives of those whom you will change once you too are on the other side. It will blow your mind. It did mind. And that’s the God we serve!
That wonderful future is there for you. You simply just have to make a choice- life or death. Freedom or bondage. Sure you may try to tell yourself you are fine- and how’s that working out for you? I did it so I know; I get it. I now see through. You may think you are so smart to fool others but fooling yourself is more dangerous and know you can’t fool God. But what you can do is go to Him. You can do that. I know you can. I know too that you can get to the full life that He already has planned for you. And I can tell you too that it’s far better than living in the high rise, sitting in owners boxes of NHL teams, flying in private jets and driving sports cars. It’s better than going to private Bare Naked Ladies concerts and having dinner with the Red Wings or Miami Dolphins; or sharing seats with Paul Newman. It’s better than all that. By far. So today get what’s better for you. Get forgiveness. Get free. Get your future.
For more about forgiveness watch ‘Living in Forgiveness’ M-F at 9:30 pm on the UANetwork. Check your local listing.
Deliverance comes through many avenues and I remember the time when I just needed to be delivered from myself. I just couldn’t take it any longer. What I didn’t know was that all the time I spent seeking all the other ideas it’s what God revealed to me that forever changed my life. I needed deliverance and now understand that there is deliverance through forgiveness. That deliverance will too change your life.
You see Jesus came to set the captives free. So then ask yourself: “Am I free? Am I really free?” If you look deep within are you where you want to be? Have you achieved what you want to achieve? Are you living in the full abundance of what God has in store for you? If not why not? It’s all there; waiting just for you.
I knew there was a whole life for me. I knew it but knowing it didn’t change anything. I can know the sky is blue but so what? I felt for many years that I was retarded but couldn’t fix it. If you have been there you know how frustrating that it is and that it’s the most helpless feeling in the world. The best news is that as you forgive your deliverance and healing will be evident. How do I know? Experience.
The level of unforgiveness I allowed in my life was killing me. It was a slow death for decades and while I felt justified in harboring it; there could be no times of refreshing until I made the choice to be refreshed. Acts 3:19 is clear to ‘Repent, and seek forgiveness so that times of refreshing may come.’ NIV) So when we look at this first it starts with a repentance and then forgiveness. What comes after the seeking of forgiveness is the refreshing. This makes it clear that there is 1) a process to follow, 2) something that occurs during that process, 3) there is an end result.
For me it was the end result I was after. I wanted peace. I wanted to grow closer to Christ. I wanted an expanded territory. I wanted so much internally and prior to the point of forgiveness; I had no means of getting it. I couldn’t. What the process of forgiveness reveals is that there it is in and of itself deliverance. As you forgive you are being delivered of that which is not of God. As you forgive in accordance with His Word you are being forever changed into the person He created you to be. As you forgive the past will remain where it needs to be; behind you.
You will no longer do or be; or desire what you once did because you will be delivered as you forgive. You don’t need more therapy to talk about how you feel about the past. You don’t need to dwell on what others have or haven’t done for you that they don’t even know they should or need to do. You don’t need to focus on what you are or are not. You don’t need any of that. You only need forgiveness to move through you swiftly so that you are delivered. Remember that you don’t need to pray to be delivered for your trials for your trials are your deliverance; and through forgiveness you are delivered.
Have you ever thought about what something means to you? What does your spouse mean to you? How about your children? Your education? Your career? Your i-life perhaps? In the midst of all of these things we may see much; but what does it mean to forgive? In reflection of forgiveness when I looked at my life I started pondering what it has meant to forgive. As such; there is much.
Now I have a full teaching on what is forgiveness (https://julieblair.com/product/what-is-forgiveness-julie-blair/) but what it means to forgive is different. Forgiveness in Hebrew is two words: Nasa and Salah which together mean a pardon of iniquity.
What it means to forgive is that first you are ready for change. Nothing will change toward the direction you want if you are not ready for it. No Olympic athlete gets to the Olympics without first being prepared. When you are ready to forgive you and your life will drastically changed. I can attest to this as I have an entire ministry based upon forgiveness; and it wasn’t my plan before I forgave I can tell you that!
To forgive means that you are ready to let go of the pain and hurt. This can be quite challenging although beyond therapeutic I may add. To be honest I had no idea the depths of my soul that had been overtaken by unforgiveness. I didn’t know the amount of bitterness, sadness; and pure helplessness that owned me. I wasn’t until I purged the pain that I was able to see and be released in the name of Jesus.
To forgive means that you are ready to repent and be obedient to God’s Word. This too I had no clue about! Sad really since I sat in church every Sunday but yet was a miserable mess. I’ve since learned that where I go in my relationship with God is up to me. There is no such thing as forgiveness without repentance as Acts 3:19 is very clear: ‘Repent and seek forgiveness, so that times of refreshing may come.’ (NIV) Forgiveness too is a command so therefore by default; not being forgiving is not being obedient. To forgive means that you are mentally and spiritually; and emotionally prepared to do what God’s Word commands. Remember that it is obedience that is better than sacrifice. Yeah; I didn’t know that one either.
To forgive means that you are ready to grow in Christ. See; there was so much about unforgiveness and forgiveness I didn’t know. I didn’t get the fact that forgiveness wasn’t about anyone but me and the Lord. I thought it was just go tell someone ‘I forgive you’ and that was it. Well; I did that for decades and then learned how much of a lie that was! It also didn’t work because I still harbored unforgiveness which kept me disobedient. Go figure. I get now that when I forgive; it is my surrendering of myself to the Lord in obedience and guess what? He works on my behalf! He healed me! He restored me! It was Him who justified and righted all the wrongs done to me. He avenged me. I didn’t have to go and fight my battles. As a result; my relationship with Christ changed. It grew and I grew. I didn’t know going into it though that it would be so much. I had no idea.
And finally; to forgive means that you are no longer a victim. There may be many terrible things that have occurred in your life; but you aren’t the victim once you forgive. I’ve been through it all: abandoned at age 3, foster home for 2 years, abusive adoptive parents, homeless shelter- all by age 15! I know divorce, infidelity, molestation and more. And I know that through forgiveness I am healed and not a victim. You aren’t either. When you forgive all of it is removed. You are not who you were to allow what once was to be what is.
Forgiveness in Christ is the pathway to your future. Apart from Him you can do nothing so it reads in John 15:5. When you too recognize that forgiveness will heal your hurt, right your wrongs; and bring beauty for ashes you will never be the same. Forgiveness may mean something more or different to you; but let it mean that you are progressing. Let it mean that you are being changed in magnificent ways. Let it mean that your light is shining like never before!
Share with me how it’s changed you. I would like to know. Why? Because I care. Because He cares.
For more about forgiveness watch Living in Forgiveness on Tuesdays at 9:30 on the UANetwork. Starting in September it will be Monday-Friday at 9:30pm. To watch previous episodes follow here: http://uanetwork.tv/uanon-demand/living-forgiveness-julie-blair/
The past is time gone by. You can’t get it back and you can’t change it. If you want to build the future that is there waiting for you; you can do just that by forgiving your past. If you are a top salesman but wanted to always be a gym teacher; forgive yourself and go for it. There is no reason to dwell on what you did or did not do then; what matters is what you do now. It doesn’t matter what has happened in the time of yesterday or yesterday; but what does matter is what you are doing now to build that better future. Forgiveness is the method of travel to your future.
1. Make the choice to forgive. If you want to live a wonderful present and see the bright future the past cannot be what you live. There is a reason why the front windshield of a vehicle is larger than the rear. Make forgiveness the choice and know that until you do; you will live in the past. What you choose to do starts in your mind and today is the day for your mind renewal according to Romans 12:2.
2. Take back your power. When you choose to live in unforgiveness you are choosing to let others have all the power. Forgiveness and unforgiveness alike are not about anyone else but you. When you forgive and start living a life of forgiveness you are not allowing the sins and behaviors of others to put you in bondage. Recognize that people are allowed to treat you the way you allow them to. When they have all the power; they can do what they want. When you remove that power through forgiveness; you and your life will be on the path toward what you are destined for. It’s time for you get back what you have given away through unforgiveness. It took me years; decades to be honest to get the reality that I was living a life with no power because I gave it all away. Unforgiveness strips you of all of it!
3. Start living your real life. You can’t live your real life until you forgive. It is not possible. I can tell you from personal experience that it is not possible. Unforgiveness distorts your thoughts, behaviors; and identity. With all of that distortion how do you think you honestly could build the right life or one even following Christ to the full when God’s Word commands forgiveness? There is a plan for your life and unforgiveness keeps you from it. Once you make the choice to forgive and get your power back; your future belongs to you. And there is much power in that!
Forgiveness is the path to your future. Unforgiveness is the path of the past. It is up to you to decide what you want and the steps to take to getting it. Unfortunately many take the easy way out yet die much too soon. It is the strong that forgive. It is the strong that at all cost; do not give others the control to influence them through such nastiness as unforgiveness. If you want your future; the real future that God has for you it’s time for you to step up and get it. The rewards for obedience are there. The freedom that comes with it is there waiting for you. Everything you could ever dream of is right there- in your future. All you have to do is take this present to get that future and walk away from the past. It’s that simple. Build your future on forgiveness today. Then live in it!
There is much talk lately about identity theft and for good reason.What’s sad is that as much as it’s talked about; unless it happens to you there doesn’t appear to be much concern. What’s worse is that when it comes to identity in Christ; it appears even less are concerned. It’s a shame because without forgiveness in Christ there is no pure identity. And without that; people perish. Isn’t it time you got your true identity back?
When we go to the beginning we can see that it was all laid out accordingly; but because of free will people have the choice to grow closer to God; or depart from Him. Before Adam made the choice to be misled by his wife Eve; he had a clear identity and plan. It’s clear in Genesis 2:15-18. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (NIV)
God gave Adam his identity and purpose; He created Him with one and the same is for you too. Obviously God and Adam had a relationship as well which is truly no different than people today; except many choose to forsake God through rebellion. They take what little identity they think they have created to go live a life they think is unto God yet know Him not. God knew Adam and Adam knew God. The plan was for Adam to take care of the garden and expand God’s Kingdom with his lovely wife Eve. What is your purpose? What are you doing to protect your identity in Christ?
While we know that Adam’s sin was putting his wife before obedience to God, that Adam was told to protect all that was in the garden; and that Eve was deceived. What we must recognize is that through the choice to sin; identity was lost. Period. When you make the choice to turn away from God to live your life your way; you lose out and in more ways than you can possibly imagine. Nothing was the same for Adam or Eve. It couldn’t be. Nothing will be the same for you either unless you choose the path of forgiveness in Christ to get your real identity.
Your identity in Christ is really all you have. Period. Outside of that you have and are nothing. Period. Sure you may have a nice title at work; but so what? Who cares? At the end of the day does it define you? And if it does what happens when you lose the job and title? Then do you allow the title of ‘unemployed’ define you? If your identity is found in the beautiful car you flaunt yourself in for everyone to see; why are you thinking so lowly of yourself that that is all you are worth is a car that depreciates every mile you drive? If your identity is created by sleeping with men with hoping they will love you knowing otherwise I want you to know that beyond it all there is something so much bigger in your identity!
You are worth so much more than you have settled for. I know this to be true because I have lived through the pain of not knowing. It wasn’t until I truly understood forgiveness, how to forgive, and what it even is that I started to have an identity. You see; unforgiveness separates you from God. It brings distance between you and Jesus. But once you make the choice to overcome you will have life and to the full. Acts 3:19 is clear: “Repent and seek forgiveness, so that times of refreshing may come.” (NIV) Your identity is part of the refreshing package!
As you forgive and truly seek the Lord for your identity in Him; your life will change. It has to! You will never be the same- in Jesus Name. The things of the past will no longer have the impact they once did. The people who used you, abused you; and reused you will have no power to harm you. They can’t. Those who stole from you will never be able to do because you know who you are in Christ.
The things that you gave away to get what you never could will be a thing of the past. You and your identity will be treasured in ways that could only come from Him. God’s Word is clear that He will never leave you or forsake you; and isn’t it time that you stop forsaking Him? It’s beyond time! It is time now for forgiveness to reign, for your identity to be restored and the real you to stand up for the assignment that He has waiting for you. That is what it is time for!
With forgiveness comes many benefits. Alike; through unforgiveness there are many consequences. One must choose. The benefits of a lifestyle of forgiveness are vast in nature and should you want to live in victory or in abundance of God’s Word; then forgiveness must be the choice. Of course today there are simply five; but rest assured there are many more available to those who are ready to receive.
1. Forgiveness Brings Emotional Stability. Unforgiveness and forgiveness both bring emotions; it’s simply a matter of which emotions you wish to exhibit. Through unforgivness comes such emotions as depression, anger, impatience among others. When forgiveness is the chosen path; you will be choosing one filled with joy, peace, patience. When what kills is replaced with what brings life; it is reflected in every area of life and the emotions are one such way that your life will change.
2. Forgiveness Delivers Better health. What’s on the inside manifests outward. It doesn’t matter if good or bad; both manifest outward. Unforgiveness is known to be linked to arthritis, hypertension and other painful ailments. The best way to get healing obviously would be through Jesus Christ since He is the Healer; but also through forgiveness in His name. See; Acts 3:19 is clear to ‘Repent, and seek forgiveness so that times of refreshing may come.’ (NIV) It is through this that there can be deliverance. When internal clutter is removed it allows the body to be transformed. In my personal life; when I forgave those who hurt me my eye color changed. I was no longer who I was and my physical body showed it. Forgiveness really is the greatest weight loss and cheapest face lift!
3. Forgiveness Enhances relationships. The best way to enhance your relationships and even keep them is to forgive. Harboring unforgiveness only keeps people at a distance from you and it decreases your ability to create any time of intimacy. It is bondage that protects when in actually it doesn’t protect it harms more! Unforgiveness along with its symptoms diminishes partnerships, friendships, marriages and any other type of relationship it can. Be on watch and forgive so that your relationships will be enhanced through forgiveness.
4. Forgiveness Increases in opportunities. With a clean and forgiving heart there is love; and more love than you can ever imagine. And who doesn’t want to be part of that? Who doesn’t want to experience love? Through forgiveness opportunities will increase simply because of what flows from you to others. Forgiving people are patient, they are givers, they are enjoyable to be around. Those traits in and of themselves are those that will increase opportunities. If you want better business deals, more effective employees; a date or better marriage forgive. It will change your life.
5. Forgiveness Allows the ability to grow closer to God. Anything you choose in life not of God is not of God and will not bring you closer to God. Period. It is not possible to be for God and then make choices that go against His Word. It’s like saying you love life and then choose abortion; or saying you are for God and hating Israel. The two cannot coincide. Forgiveness removes the separation from God and not only grows you closer to Him; but also increases your wisdom, understanding of Who God is; and the purpose for your life. You cannot know why He created you unless you know Him. It is through obedience to Him and forgiveness; that your life will change. Trying to get from God through disobedience does not work. It cannot. Let us not forget it was His Son who died for your sins. It is through His Son that you can grow in relationship. Forgiveness is the doorway.
In the end forgiveness is life changing. There is nothing that will enhance your life more than forgiveness; and nothing that it will steal your life than unforgiveness. It’s your choice what you will have in your life and the steps that you are willing to take to get it. The benefits of a lifestyle of forgiveness are the expectation and requirement of every Believer. The benefits of a lifestyle of forgiveness are designed to give you life in abundance; and to the full.
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Forgiveness changes things. In fact it changes everything. It changes the heart, soul; and life of the forgiver. There is a perception correct that occurs through forgiveness.
When you live in unforgiveness; you are able to see life from the one vantage point that you have- yours. With unforgiveness in and breeding in you ask yourself: how correct do you think the perceptions you have could be with something so negative living in you? Not sure? Well; then let’s add some of unforgiveness cousins for fun and see! How about a little resentment? Bitterness? Anger? Impatience? Are you starting to get the idea now?
I didn’t realize just how incorrect my perception of everything was. My perception of relationships, perception of my biological mother; and most important my relationship with Christ. My life was being lived based upon incorrect perceptions deeply rooted in unforgiveness. It wasn’t until I forgave that it was corrected. It wasn’t until I forgave that I was able to start living.
One of the biggest perception correction I experienced was regarding my biological mother. What I knew before I forgave her was that she told me she was going to get pizza and never returned. What I knew and remembered was that she didn’t show up to the final visit that we were scheduled to have with the social workers. My perception was that she abandoned me, didn’t want me and surely didn’t love me. My perception was that I was not worthy of love and therefore; unloveable. I lived a life based upon this incorrect perception.
How was this incorrect? Well; when you live in unforgiveness you are not able to see any other vantage point than yours. Once I became obedient to Christ and repented for my unforgiveness toward my mother and then forgave her for abandoning me I was able to listen to her. I was able to hear what she had to say and receive it. What did I receive? More than I ever could have imagined!
My biological mother shared with me that she never intended for me to be placed in foster care. She never intended to ‘not’ show up for the final appointment with the social worker! She went on to share with me that she was given an ultimatum by the social worker: sell me to him for 10k or never see me again. He was buying and selling babies on the Canadian Black Market. When she rejected his offer he changed the appointment time and because she didn’t drive; she couldn’t get there. She never saw me again. That was her side of the story.
For all those years I lived with the hate, resentment, fear of abandonment, forgiveness and many others based upon an incorrect perception! I made life decisions based upon all those things not knowing that they were not only incorrect; but were killing me. How about you? What do you think is behind the door of forgiveness that you have yet to open?
Once I listened to all of what my mother had to share; my life changed. I no longer had the resentment and hatred with deep-seeded unforgiveness breeding in me. My heart was changed. I no longer saw my mother as the fat, stupid degenerate that I always believed she was. (Just saying) No. Not any longer. I saw her as God sees her. I saw her as a woman who lost her child; a woman who suffered much. And a woman who against all odds chose life.
Forgiveness forever changed me. It brought me closer to Christ and it will too. It brought healing to every ounce of my being; including a change in my eye color and voice. It brought a change in perception. It brought humbling in ways unimaginable and it will for you too.
There is someone in your life right now waiting for his or her chance to share the truth with you. There is someone who is waiting to see you be free from what you have harbored deep within to this point. Are you ready to receive? Are you ready to forgive? I pray that you are as you are too valuable to waste away in the land of unforgiveness. I pray that you are ready to see with the 20/20 vision that God has been waiting for you to receive!
Unforgiveness is a sin. In the purest of forms it is a sin against God. And sin kills. Unforgiveness as a result too kills because it is sin although in its process damages you along the way. The destruction to your soul and your body are what most don’t take into consideration. This would make sense since unforgiveness is in the way; blocking the very revelation. So how does unforgiveness truly damage you?
Unforgiveness reaches you at the core of who you are; your soul and spirit. It operates internally like a virus scan program; monitoring every thought, every action; every breath. It ensures that operation to the full are consistent with keeping you miserable; keeping you dying. Your soul which is compromised of your mind, will and emotions is what progresses you through life. When living in unforgiveness the pain resides. It breeds bitterness which is poison that rots the bones. It grows into anger, resentment and the myriad of almost 40 symptoms of unforgiveness. None of which are healthy to the soul. Unforgiveness is the silent torment to the soul that keeps people dying in silence. None of the symptoms allow for any true growth in Christ. How seriously could you expect to grow closer to Christ while being separated from Him by the choice to be disobedience through unforgiveness? One cannot grow to the other. It is only until unforgiveness is removed and replaced with His Truth that freedom and growth in Christ to the full can begin. Until that time of choice begins; it is a slow damaging process to death. When the soul is replenished; life is renewed. This is why forgiveness is a process; a renewing process. Acts 3:19 is very clear: ‘Repent, and then seek forgiveness, so that times of refreshing may come.’ (NIV) There is no refreshing until the choice to repent is first. The soul will not be cleansed nor life changed for the better of His Kingdom.
In the physical body unforgiveness spreads. Anything that occurs in the spiritual aspect manifests itself in the physical. The same is true with forgiveness and unforgiveness alike. When a person lives in forgiveness there is peace; just as much so as when living in unforgiveness there is no peace. When there is no peace the body feels it. When there is stress, anger or any other negative emotion it is felt. Dr. Caroline Leaf has examined the brain related to renewing the mind Biblically and in her research has found that as people change their thoughts then it reacts in the body. When a person is bitter it rots the bones. Unforgiveness has also been known to have such additional physical symptoms of arthritis, hypertension and many others. The human body was not created to withstand the rigors of hate and evil; and sin against God. The torment caused to the body has people dying at a faster rate than necessary. I encourage you today to stop damaging your body and forgive so that you can live; and live the life you were created to live.
It is written best in 3 John 1:2 where it reads the message clear: “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (NIV) How can you have good health and all well in your soul when living against God? You cannot be for Him and against Him at the same time. It would like going against Israel and expecting God to like it! God’s Word is clear that you are to enjoy good health and that ‘all’ may go well with you; not just some. You can get all simply by forgiving. You really can! There is peace in forgiveness to be in your soul and body. It is there waiting so you don’t have to any longer do damage to yourself. It is simply up to you to recognize that you are worth it, God commands it; and that you can do it.
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Forgiveness takes time. There is time involved. The question most ask is how long does forgiveness take? It is a question for the ages that one never seems to grasp. But again; how long does it take? Let’s face it that is what people want to know right?
And so it goes there is no specific answer. Forgiveness is a process and as with any process it takes time. There is no way around it. There are some things; however, that must be taken into consider when it comes to the time factor of forgiveness.
1. Every person is different. We all are different. None are the same. How every person progresses through life in his or her own way and based upon life experiences too is different. To determine the timeline of forgiveness for each person makes no sense because it really is not relevant. What is relevant to recognize is that the process is underway. Comparing any person and his or her ability to forgive and in a quicker manner serves no purpose and more often than not serves rather as a hindrance because again; each person is different.
2. Every situation is different. No two situations are the same. They may be similar; but not the same. There is no way for them to be because the people involved are not the same, the interpretation of the situation is different; and understanding that applying ways of old to new situations can be more of a hindrance because the applications may not apply. One situation may one of infidelity while another may be wrongful death; and still even betrayal in friendship. No two situations are the same therefore handling them in an exact manner would not be sufficient.
3. Every person’s relationship with Christ is different. When it comes to forgiveness in Christ; where a person is in relationship to and with Him is different. Only God knows the motives of man’s heart. It is written in Jeremiah 17:10: “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” To determine the timeline of forgiveness truly is not the main focus because God knows not only the situation; but also the heart of the person who needs to forgive.
The bottom line is that forgiveness is a process. It is one of healing and deliverance. It is one that will relinquish much pain and heartache. The process of it is one that takes as long as it takes for each person. Falling into the trap of believing that one must be finished forgiving in this time or that; is dangerous. It creates a level of comparison that need not be. It builds a level of bondage that need not be. And when forgiving and living in it; it is always a process and there is no timeline to live in it. It’s something to progress through for the rest of the days of your life.
Unforgiveness kills. Plain and simple. Many may call it cancer; however, it is a heart condition that spreads like cancer; reaching every single part of a person’s being. Unforgiveness literally kills you. Now that you know this; what is the cure? Well; the most basic and foundation element if you are a follower of Christ is quite simple. What is it? What could possibly heal one of what is causing death and destruction? God’s Word. And following God’s Word; else what would be the point? Too many people today have missed the latter although it goes like this:
Repent. Sure you may say of what but let me first provide supporting scripture. Acts 3:19 makes it very clear: “Repent and then seek forgiveness so that times of refreshing may come. ” (NKJ) Now the NIV puts it this way: “19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,” so either way you put it- there is something for ‘you’ to do. Repent of harboring the unforgiveness because otherwise God’s Word would not say to start there. If you have nothing wrong then the verse would need not be there. Refusing to repent causes what is there to continue to be there and spread in ways you can’t possibly imagine. The times of refreshing come ‘after’ repentance so it reads. It’s quite simple. Follow the steps if you want the desired outcome. It’s a two part step with an outcome.
What occurs spiritually in a person manifests itself physically and that is your choice. What are you allowing to rule you? God’s Word is also true in Romans 12:2 “2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” There is a command of what not to do and secondly; there is another command of what to do- oh and again with the outcome of it.
See; God’s Word is the same yesterday and forever. Society is not. And so when you read God’s Word it is very clear that Believers are not to conform to the pattern of the world but be ‘transformed’ by the renewing of the mind. Now- God’s Word would not give a command to do something unless it was possible for it to be done. There is a means of renewing the mind. Apostle Paul would not have talked about such things if he did not know. Scientists and doctors like Caroline Leaf would not share that when you align your mind with scripture your life changes. Your brain is required and the electrons in it are reprogrammed as what is not of God is replaced with what is of God. In essence we need more of God’s Word and truth for healing and less drugs; but I digress.
And so it goes unforgiveness isn’t only a heart condition but also a sin. It is sin against God which is why repentance is required. It does not matter what anyone has done to you; but what you do about it. Period. And again; God’s Word reads ‘repent’. This is the first place to start because harboring unforgiveness is as I said a sin but also a silent killer.
Unforgiveness has almost 40 symptoms. Yes- 40! Yet most people never get past anger or resentment to recognize how deep unforgiveness goes into the entire body and being of who they are. Let’s include just for fun bitterness, separation from God, blocked blessings; just to name a few. And this is how your life is wrecked. See; you have an assignment. When you live in unforgiveness it keeps you from living it out. And too many people are not living out their assignments from God because they are too busy dying of unforgiveness. Don’t let that be you!
Once you understand howunforgiveness takes over the body and every single aspect of it- you will want to get rid of all of and quick! Let it be known that most of what people have internally is only able to be revealed through the power of God, Jesus and His Holy Spirit. Hence; why we all need a savior and relationship with Christ. How do I know? Because when I had to go through God’s full process of forgiveness my eye color changed and my voice changed. God gave me the revelation from His Word about how deep this truly is and my prayer for you is that you would not wait another day thinking you are free of unforgiveness when probably deep down there has been something lingering. This is not psychotherapy or anything else as anything not of God is simply not of God and never can be of God.
Should you be sick and tired of being sick and tired and want healing in the full it’s time to get real- and quick. It’s time to stop allowing yourself to be a victim focusing on what others have done that they probably don’t even have a clue that they’ve done. It’s time to grasp that reality that God’s Word is real and true and that time is of the essence.
Get with the One who heals, who redeems; the One who created you long before the foundation of the earth. The One who knows your pain and can take away your pain. You are too precious to live life dying when you don’t have to. Start with Acts 3:19 and let the times of refreshing come. They will. It takes one step at a time yet each step brings more power into the lives of those who forgive. I am living proof. And don’t you want to be too?