YOU HAVE GOT TO TRULY FORGIVE
Hello! Heirs of God, it’s Easter time, a time we celebrate in remembrance and thankfulness of the liberation, freedom, peace, and life that Jesus made possible through His death and resurrection.
But should you celebrate with a wounded heart? Or how would you celebrate having wounded the heart of someone else? Would you call it true joy if the redemptive works of your Savior and Lord are replaced by the memories of your past? the resentments? the bitterness? the unforgiveness? the refusal to let go of your hurts or those who hurt you? Does any of what you’ve just read reflect freedom to you? Sincerely speaking, if you rejoice during Easter with anything that looks like what we have just described above, it means you have not truly understood the reason for the season.
This season is all about freedom. Freedom from anything that enslaves— from sin to self, to people and works. And no one brings about this freedom but Jesus Christ. It’s the Son of God that sets free, and he whom the Son sets free is indeed a free person (John 8:36). Only free people understand the reason for this season. Only free people can be thankful to God. What is it that is holding you from experiencing this new-found freedom in Christ available to you?
Beloved child of God, Easter is the time of the resurrection of Christ. It is a time of life, peace, and joy. This moment brings new life to people generally and specifically, to emotionally wounded people. This new life is a fresh start made possible by the act of forgiveness.
Limiting Your World
Are you aware of the fact that when you do not forgive someone, you limit your world? Do you know that when you do not forgive someone, you are living in misery? Yeah, with the spirit of unforgiveness, you trap your liberty, peace, and joy within yourself. And you can not move forward with your life without carrying the past along with you.
The past becomes a heavy bag of trash on you that would normally have been emptied. Think about that for a moment! With the spirit of unforgiveness, every time that you see the person who hurt you, you feel hurt because the story returns to your heart. The issue seems to resurface every time your mind thinks of it. It would feel and be like it just happened a moment ago. Oh no, child of God, you shouldn’t live that way. It is necessary to empty the trash bag, beloved, and move on.
Makes The Body Unwell
To not forgive someone can be detrimental to your health. It can cause sickness to the body, do you know that? Perhaps the reason you’re sick or in pain is because you have not forgiven those who have hurt you in the past.
The lack of forgiveness can undoubtedly kill someone. It can cause your death before your actual time, do you know that? Living with these emotional scars can stress your life and reduce your youth, of course.
Easter And The Power To Forgive
Easter time brings a strong power that facilitates people to forgive. The Easter season provides a great demonstration of the spirit of forgiveness. Easter was the moment of human weakness but also the greatest moment that humans received God’s forgiveness.
All those people who hurt Jesus received forgiveness during the Easter season. Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times consistently. And that hurt Jesus, but Jesus forgave Peter during the Easter period. Thomas also hurt Him as he doubted Jesus, but Jesus forgave him too. He did not throw him out, nor did He put an end to the relationship between them.
The people who crucified Jesus on the cross were forgiven too by Jesus. In fact, Jesus had no emotional trash on him before his death. What an example that Jesus gives us to forgive those who hurt us. He also literally asks us to forgive others, and it’s possible (Colossians 3:13). We can forgive because we are a forgiven people.
In Him Because Of Forgiveness
Are you aware that you are in Christ because of the power of forgiveness? Because of the fact that you’re forgiven, I mean. Yes, it’s true. God has forgiven you of your sins. That’s why you stand in His grace. But by standing in His grace, you are asked to forgive one another as Christ forgave you (Colossians 3:13).
There is no Easter without the spirit of forgiveness. It would be an act of hypocrisy if you rejoice in Easter when you know you have not forgiven certain people you should have forgiven. For there is no Easter without the spirit of forgiveness, are you with me? Easter was possible because there was a forgiving spirit in Jesus Christ.
Before dying, the very last words of Jesus were: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). You see clearly that Jesus was not seeking revenge but how to forgive those who hurt Him. This is the spirit of forgiveness. It’s what we’re talking about. To forgive is very powerful and also spiritual.
An Act Pregnant With Power
That act of forgiving is pregnant with power. The act of forgiveness has the potential power to free anyone. The act of forgiveness has the potential power to free yourself. To forgive someone is one thing but to forgive yourself is something else. And the easiest way to forgive yourself and release your liberty is to forgive others. Therefore, forgive others from your heart so that you too may be released. This Easter season is a time to truly forgive from the heart.
If you have difficulties to forgive, now is the time to do so. Because it is Easter. Are you willing to release yourself? Are you willing to continue your new life without the memory of the past? Then you must forgive all those who have hurt you. Think of all who have hurt you in the past. Are you ready to begin a new life without keeping the hurtful thoughts of the past in your mind? Are you ready to put your emotions on the Word of God and forgive them? Then pray this prayer sincerely below.
“God our Father, the light of this Easter season has shone in my heart. I can now see why Jesus forgave all those who hurt Him. I can now see why Jesus forgives people who still make mistakes today.
“Heavenly Father, You know how I was hurt by my friends… (you can name them here). You know the evil they did to me (you may name some if you want to). But today, before you Lord and to honor your word, I choose to forgive them from the bottom of my heart, just as Jesus has forgiven me.
“I refuse to think evil against those who hurt me. I refuse to speak evil against them. I also refuse resentment in any form. I choose to put my mind on your Word and free myself from past mistakes and hurts. I choose to release my mind from all evil linked to the past. And I also ask you to forgive me of any mistake I might have done to others and to you Lord my God.
“Father, I also pray for all those who have hurt me for you to forgive them just as you have forgiven me this day. Heavenly Father, help me also to live better for you, with no memory of the past, with no memory of the evil perpetrated against me in Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen. Thank you, God, for giving me a new beginning. Thank you for my new life. (You may continue to worship God as the Spirit leads you).
May The Lord Bless You, Richly, and Happy Easter!
.