I recently met someone who was really struggling with forgiveness.
It was clear that their wounds were real and had accumulated over many years.
They were in a painful marriage with a deeply wounded spouse who was just passing on their pain through emotional and verbal abuse.
They just wanted to get away from the pain.
They told me that they could not forgive.
What hinders us from forgiving?
First and foremost: believing the lies of the enemy.
“If I forgive, then…..”
Who benefits when I forgive my offender? I DO!
Is there a guarantee that they will change their ways and not hurt me again?
Nope, in fact they most likely will, especially if the offender is our spouse.
The more wounds that accumulate without being healed the harder it is to finally face the wounds and come for healing.
The first step in healing is applying the Blood of Jesus to the offense.
The wound is used by the enemy to unleash division into our relationships.
If we focus on the wound or the offender, the enemy has successfully shifted our gaze off of Jesus.
Once that happens, the enemy introduces lies about God, self and others that feel true because of the painful emotions introduced by the offense.
His next tactic is to accuse God, us and others and convince us to be the judge and jury.
He will always move us to render a guilty verdict.
His ultimate goal is to destroy our relationship with God, others and self.
How do we counter this strategy?
First and foremost, we need to lock our gaze onto Jesus.
If we shift our focus, as soon as we realize it, we need to reset it on Jesus.
That frees us from the manipulation of the enemy.
We will see more clearly what is really going on and we can counter attack through forgiving, exchanging the negative emotion for God’s peace and then declaring our partnership with Jesus in forgiving the offender.
Remember, not forgiving hurts us more than anyone else.
Ask the Lord to show you the lies the enemy has sold you on.
Then, ask Him to speak His Truth to the lies.
Plead the Blood over the offense and release the pain to Jesus.
Receive His peace and healing in return and then declare you are partnering with Jesus in forgiving the offender.
Thank Jesus that He is your Need Meeter and rest in His perfect love for you.
Blessings,
Robyn Henning
P.S. Sorry that there is no video for this one. You Tube is not cooperating.