Fighting to Forgive
Our bodies (physically, mentally and spiritually) are vessels filled with elements that make us who we are. Some things take up more room
than others. In fact, some things can not only fill a room but can consume everything else within you.
Love is an example of this. Love has the ability to take up all the room in your mental, spiritual and physical vessel by affecting every other element within. Another not-so-healthy example is unforgiveness. Unforgiveness can be all-consuming. If you don't forgive, there will be no room to receive anything else...including happiness, health, prosperity and love. This is what is called a stronghold, a hidden sin, a weight or an incorrect thinking pattern that needs to be torn down within.
Forgiveness is an action that is both selfish and selfless. It is actually an offspring of unconditional love, as it’s impossible to truly forgive outside of love.
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”
Forgiveness has two parts; it includes forgiving the person or situation that affected you and it includes forgiving yourself for being connected to that experience. For Christians, a lack of forgiveness is not an accurate picture of what Christ has done for you. It is basically denying the work that was accomplished on the cross. If before dying on the cross, Jesus forgave you, then you need to see yourself and live a lifestyle that is forgiven and forgiving. Reject everything that can harm you and accept everything that can heal.
Accept love over anger, over spite, over hurt and disappointment, over injustices, and over mistakes. If you have real love within, you can forgive.
Ephesians 4:31-32 ”Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”