January 7, 2016

Freedom Guide #6: Forgive Quickly and Often

The sixth item on the Freedom Guide is to forgive quickly any new offenses and to continue to forgive those things that try to come back up.  Unforgiveness is a serious issue, and one that will hold you in serious bondage.  Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive his brother.  Jesus tells this parable to answer the question:


Note, that the slave who refused to forgive was handed over to the torturers…  That bondage is the natural consequence of not forgiving.  Even the medical communities are discovering what Jesus alluded to 2000 years ago.  Unforgiveness puts your body in a state of stress and pressure which then can result in diseases of all kinds.  Not good!

I grew up with the idea that forgiveness was all or nothing, you either forgave, or you didn’t.  However, I’ve now learned that forgiveness is a process more than a one time event, especially for very hurtful things.  When ever those memories and feelings resurface, I must choose to forgive again.  It may be that I am reminding myself of my choice to forgive, but either way, I find I need to do this more than just once.

As you declare forgiveness, ask God to heal the hurt of those events.  This is a piece that I missed for quite a while.  It’s the same premise that the spiritual world, as well as the natural, abhors a vacuum.  It’s not enough to just clean out the bad, I want to fill up those areas with the good to be well and truly healed.

This is primarily a transaction between you and God, not you and the person.  It may be good to go to the person and express your forgiveness, but not always is that wise or safe.  Forgiveness doesn’t mean a regain of trust and relationship, either, necessarily.  If a person has shown themselves to be untrustworthy, you can forgive them and yet still maintain healthy boundaries.  Forgiveness doesn’t mean that everything is okay, it means that you are set free from the torment of unforgiveness!

Who do you need to forgive?  Take a moment and ask God to show you.  Forgiveness is your get out of jail free card!


