Matthew 6:14-15
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
WHOA!! Hold up! shoot! dang! This is God’s word, and I believe it is 100% TRUTH, and therefore must be taken to heart. Some issues with some people are just so hard to forgive. So where does that leave me?? Unforgiveness =unforgiveness
I can only speak for myself, but I am always in need for forgiveness. When looking at all the forgiveness that the Father has so graciously given to me, I have nothing , no argument in covering my butt in unforgiveness! NONE! So what is a person to do, when knowing this truth, and agreeing with it, and the heart is not working with the head??
Remembering that God can do all things, and I can do all things through HIM, I must bring this to the Father, and ask for HIS help in doing this, loving and forgiving someone you are crazy about it is not as difficult as loving and forgiving someone who is not crazy about me. Yet, HIS word says “love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44) This requires me to continually repent of unforgiveness, and submitting my heart to the LORD to make the necessary changes in it so that I can comply with HIS word.
Nothing works in my world, or makes sense if I don’t forgive. I have learned this lesson a long time ago, and now in need of the refresher. God has no loop holes..LOVE! FORGIVE! just as HE is doing these things for me. Hard lesson!! hope to get it this time
How about you, ever found yourself just not wanting to forgive, or how do you handle this? is it possible you all have this one figured out and never struggle with it?
ponderings of a princess... 
Just in case I forgot something – your forgiven.
All figured out?
Never struggle with this?
I wish!
It’s very hard when we’ve been offended. What brings me to my knees is when I realize I am human and have sinned against a perfectly gracious and loving God who NEVER did anything but good for me. And yet He forgives without holding grudges.
Human to human…?…we’re all on the same level. Each of us need forgiveness. No one is worse than anyone else…all of us are in need of grace.
Withholding forgiveness to a human, by a human, is placing ourselves above God…or so, it seems to me.
Somehow that helps me to extend grace to other human beings. Knowing we’re all in the same boat and yet God forgave us. I do not want to think of myself as higher than God.
Does that make sense? Im not sure I’m saying it well. 😕
Papa- I love you! thanks for the extended just incase forgiveness!
Michelle-it does sound like you have it figured out..wondering how others deal with the heart issue that we know to forgive and we just can not with out the power of God to do it..love your comments.
Have you ever been not-forgiven by someone? It is an awful feeling to know you’ve offended someone, and they refuse to allow you to reconcile.
It is harder when they don’t ask or want or see the need for forgiveness to forgive anyway. Sometimes we have to ask God to help us to even be willing to be willing to forgive.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that they are also much loved children, created in God’s image.
I think forgiveness is one of the hardest things we are asked to do…. and yet one of the most rewarding once we can do it.
Anyway, back to my original thought… I shudder at the thought of not being forgiven….
We are to live by his 100% example 100% of the time…
Just makes you wonder who in your past you have forgotten about that needs to be forgiven….
Peace and love sis…
I have kind of a trick that I use whenever there is someone in my life whom I need to forgive.
Whenever I pray The Lord’s Prayer–and I do that A LOT (cause I still don’t know what to say)–but when I come to the part…
Forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who have sinned against us.
…I form an image in my head of the person I need to forgive and focus on that person as I am praying. Whether it’s the man who murdered my friend all those years ago, a friend who betrayed me in my bereavement, or someone who might be just a little too legalistic for my tastes.
God knows my thoughts. So I guess that’s my way of praying for Him to enable me to share the forgiveness He has so graciously shown me. And I keep doing this until the burden of holding onto the grudge has lifted.
I’ve been doing it for years. And in some instances and some situations and some people…
…I’m still doing it.
“Miles to go before I sleep.”
HW- you hit the one that is hardest for me…the one where you have been wronged and they really don’t want to be forgiven or reconciled, and you still have to forgive them…I also shudder at the thought of not being forgiven. I have been wronged lots in my life and a couple time they did not want forgiveness, and God helped me to do that..my problem is with other children of God who seem to think some of us are below them. I am asking several times a day to love and forgive them, I know it will be done by HIS power and not mine. thanks for speaking to me on this! love you!
CK-like HW i do not want to entertain the thought of me not being forgiven. no that is too much for my brain. But that is what it says..no forgiving will get you no forgiving. Working hard on this one. Nothing is too hard for GOD, so I am hanging with HIM! 🙂 Love and Peace bro!! been missing you!
Nordude- i pray that prayer lots too..mostly because Jesus said to pray it, and it gives me a perspective to what is important and what is just worldly desire. love you!
grudge = sludge, and I want my pipeline to God to be sludge-free.
Easier said than done, though.
forgiveness is getting easier for me as the years go on, forgetting? not so much.
does that make it better? nope. because many times when i recall an injustice that has been done to me or i have done to someone else…i either have feelings of anger resurface, or justify my actions if i was the offender.
well, not every time. but any at all, is too much.
im a work in progress. every single day.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself that they are also much loved children, created in God’s image”- HW I’m here also, and have come to know forgiving to mean not holding a grudge, not wanting revenge or recompense. Hard to do? you bet, but once again, God’s Word comes through, Lord’s prayer for one, and prayer delivers, lots of prayer.
When the offense is raised before me, I let it wash over me and into the stream of God’s Holy Spirit. Sometimes visualize it as a log in the stream and refuse to pull it out, just let it float on by.
It’s so crazy that I just wrote a post about this. I hadn’t visited your blog before that so not sure when you wrote it but I believe God is calling us to go beyond where we are concerning forgiveness. I believe unforgiveness is a huge hindrance to us being able to fully access God’s blessings and He wants to break that yoke so we may have life and life more abundantly. Thank you. I love you 🙂 And I miss you too……a lot/
I just wrote a long comment; did your spam monster get it?!
Gchy-I saved you! and I believe you are right! I love and miss you alot too!! hoping you are thinking about coming here this summer, maybe in August so we can go see Joyce meyer!
Dale & Grace- you both speak my heart so well, I just want to be obedient to the Word, so that I can move ahead with HIM. HE doesn’t give us commands to cramp my style, HE does it for my benefit. Learning, sometimes slowly, but learning! love you both!
Tam!!!!! – I know what you are saying, and it makes perfect sense to me. I wonder sometimes how much is unforgiveness and how much is the enemy just making me feel guilty..I am going to choose to err on the side of believing, thank you , you always help me so much to just walk through my thoughts! must be a sister thing..love you
sweet gchy – you are SO right about unforgiveness being a hinderance.
i actually, in a weird way, think im fortunate to had have gone through so much abuse in my past. i had to learn to let go. i had to learn to move on. i had to learn to not take things so personally. had i not…i would be a miserable basket case right now. so because of those many. many lessons…i dont struggle all that much with an unforgiving spirit. BUT…i do struggle with recalling things and gettin pissed. THATS not good 😕
darla – you are very much my sis! no stinkin doubt about that princess!
sorry i said pissed.
😯
😆 love me some Tam!
Maybe one of your fine friends here already said this, but I am convinced that if it were such an easy thing to do we would be hung up on how good we are and lose sight of the grace of God.
Angie, that is so true! i have thought about that alot this week. There is something that I ask the LORD to remove from me almost daily, and after feeling like a failure, HE reminds that althought I have my moments with it, if HE cleared everything up for me, I would not remember how much I need HIM. And OHHHHH i do need HIM. love you girl!