Choose To Forgive

Choose To Forgive

Colossians 3:13 (NIV®)

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Do you need to forgive someone? I’ll tell you how to recognize it. Is there a scene or a situation that causes you to feel flooded with emotion when it comes to your mind? It doesn’t have to be violent or abusive. It might be a time when someone demonstrated a lack of awareness or understanding, or they were unable to respond to you because of their own brokenness. Perhaps someone was simply unable to be what you needed them to be. If any of these apply, you need to forgive that person. Forgiveness is a step of obedience, a choice that has nothing to do with our emotions. You have to make the choice to forgive, before your emotions will catch up. I encourage you to make the choice to forgive. Choose to do what God has done for you and asked you to do for others. It’s the only way to get off the treadmill of reliving those painful experiences and to live in the joy and peace that God desires for you.

THINK ABOUT IT

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14, 15, NIV®). It is a sobering choice.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I choose to forgive ________ for _____________. In the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I take back the ground I allowed Satan to gain in my life because of my attitude toward ________ and restore it to my Lord Jesus Christ. In His name, amen.