I think most of us understands that when Jesus Christ asks us to forgive, we should forgive.
Matthew 6:14-15 “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.”
But how many times have you decided you’re going to pick and choose who you forgive?
I know for me this is something I am a work in progress with – all the time. I can forgive my husband for doing or saying something silly. I can forgive family members. That’s not too hard. But do I forgive people outside of my home?
As I sit here and type this, I can think of countless people who have hurt me, and how angry I have been about it. I can also think about the bitter person I become when I don’t forgive – and I don’t like that person.
Guess what?
God doesn’t like that person either. Yes, He LOVES you. Make no mistake about it. But He does not want you, His beloved child, bitter – all the time.
He can’t, in fact, He won’t use you with a bitter demeanor. He won’t allow the purpose of furthering His kingdom through you – prevail. If He were to use you in a great way, even though you’re always bitter and mean to people, He would be going against His own word. He would be allowing you to be a poor representation of Jesus Christ. It’s not to say God doesn’t care about how you feel, because He does. He wants you to heal so you can forgive. But He is not okay with you living inside your anger and unforgiveness.
But here’s a question to ponder…
Ask yourself why are you angry and can’t forgive when people hurt you?
As I have gotten older and older and grown closer to Jesus Christ, I have begun to understand why it’s so hard to forgive.
The Why?
One of the reasons it’s so hard to forgive is because it’s so hard to believe that after we put our full trust in people, they can actually hurt us. There’s nothing wrong with putting our trust in people, and believing the best in people, BUT we all know that we live in a sinful world and even the nicest, kindest person you know, can one day hurt you.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
When someone you love hurts you, it hurts. And it’s okay to be hurt and to tell God you’re hurting. But I think we can be more forgiving when we recognize that people will fail us. Your spouse can one day fail you, your children, your best friend. And you too can fail someone who loves you… But when you already know that we are all sinners and we all have the capacity to hurt people we love and care about, we can begin the forgiveness process a lot quicker.
I cannot count any longer how many people (especially Christian people) who have hurt me. I cannot count how many friends who have hurt me, how many co-workers who have hurt me. And for a long LONG time, I walked around like a victim – like poor me. People are so mean to me.
That’s exactly what Satan wants. He wants us to feel like victims rather than realizing that we are all sinners.
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
We all make mistakes. We all blow it – every single day. People may very well have hurt you, but God does not want you to camp out in that hurt. Your pain might me deep. He is near to the brokenhearted.
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Lead Me The Way... 
One thought on “When we don’t forgive…”