Hey y'all! I hope y'all are having an amazing day so far. I just want to say thank you for continuing to read all these blogs. I ask that y'all send up a prayer for me. For one, I've come down with some sort of sickness. Two, I've been going through a lot with work and it is super overwhelming and stressful. There has been so much going on that I can not even begin to describe it. If you all will, keep me in your prayers! Now, onto the blog!
The year I turned fifteen, my father left my mom, my sister, and myself. I can not really explain or describe how that felt to have that happen from someone who I thought was happy and loved us. It was really the first heartbreak I had ever felt or encountered, besides when I lost my Aunt Melissa. I was hurt and confused. Overtime, that hurt that I had grew into bitterness.
I know what y'all are thinking... How can you be that way when you're saved? When you're holiness? The right thing to do would have been to forgive my dad, but it was SO difficult to do! For the LONGEST time, I told myself "I will forgive, but I will not forget." I became a master, the queen, at holding a grudge against my dad. I held onto this grudge, this piece of destruction, hoping that it would give me freedom. I eventually found out that forgiving him was the only thing that could give me true and pure freedom. I often question myself... Why is it so difficult for me to forgive others when Jesus forgave me of all of my sins?
In Matthew 18, Jesus gives Peter the parable of the unforgiving servant. Peter asks Jesus how often he should forgive someone that, more ore less, turns against him. With Peter's initial guess as seven times, I'm sure he was a little surprised when Jesus told him he needed to forgive them "seventy times seven" (Verses 21-35). In other words, He is telling Peter to always forgive others, without any limitations. In verses thirty-four and thirty-five, Jesus ends by saying that if we don't forgive others, God will also do the same unto us.
When I am hurt by someone else, the best way to heal is to forgive the person(s) that hurt me. Many times I feel or think that I can brush off these things that bother me, when in reality, I can not do that by myself. When I find myself in a position where I feel I can not forgive someone, I realize that I need to address my problem by praying and reading God's word. Good thing for us, God uses time with Him to soften our hearts and remind us that He has shown us the greatest form of forgiveness, therefore it being imperative that we forgive others.
So, if you are hurting from past scars, hurts, or broken hearts and struggling to forgive those who have wronged you, take it to the Lord. He is the ONLY one who can truly heal our wounds, change our hearts, and give us freedom through forgiveness.
"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." Colossians 3:13
