Ephesians 4:32
32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
People like to say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.”
Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does
God tell you to forgive and then to forget. It is not in the Bible! The
devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome.
God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has
forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favour
because bitterness and unforgiveness in the heart can sometimes destroy our
health!
So just forgive and let God take care of the rest. When you
really forgive, sometimes, He makes you forget. But sometimes, you still
remember the incident because it was a major thing in your life. Yet, when you
look back at it, the pain is no more there. The sting is gone and you are not
bitter.
Joseph forgave his brothers before they came and bowed before
him. He remembered what they did to him, but he did not remember it with
bitterness. (Genesis 50:15–21) So you may remember the incident, but the
bitterness is gone because you have put the cross in the picture — “God in
Christ forgave me. Daddy, I forgive you. Mama, I forgive you. My cousin, I
forgive you.”
When you forgive, forgive by faith, not by your feelings. We
live by faith, not feelings. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Some people are waiting for
feelings — “I am waiting, Father, for the right emotion to come on me to
forgive.” You will wait forever!
No, forgive by faith, and do it once and for all. Spend time
in prayer. Take out your diary and write it down: “Father, I bring this person
before you. You know what he did to me. Father, as You forgave me through Jesus’
cross, even though I did not deserve it, by faith, I now forgive this person
and I let my anger against him go in Jesus’ name. Amen!”
Once you forgive by faith this way, you will see
the sting of bitterness removed from your heart. You will experience the peace
and joy of God filling your mind, and see a greater measure of wholeness in
your body!
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