What is forgiveness?
Forgiveness is an act of strength. Strength that enable you to move on from that situation or person; not tied to resentment and anger which can turn into bitterness.
Why hold on to resentment for that person when we can let go and live? I am not saying that it will be easy to forgive; it may be hard, but the longer you hold on to it the harder it will be to forgive.
I have heard people say, “Forgive and forget.” Forgive and forget can mean that you forgive the offender and move on with your life, because God expects us to forgive, using godly wisdom.
The Bible says "Forgive those who has trespass against us.” (Matthew 6:12). What does that mean? Trespass is an act of offence against a person. In order for us to receive God’s blessings and forgiveness when we do wrong; we have to forgive. The sad thing is that when we do not forgive, we leave unresolved issues behind on loved ones who do not have the opportunity to say, “I forgive you.”
Forgiveness brings peace and freedom and it releases you from the power of that person. The only way that you know you have genuinely forgiven that person, is when that person walks into the room and you feel nothing negative; only forgiveness.
We all have one life; a life that should be filled with peace and tranquillity instead of anger or resentment. It is impossible to move on with a heart that is not forgiving and live your life fully.
Is it right for a person to take over one’s life and emotion with an unforgiving heart? Forgive, and move on, in order to let go and live your life more abundantly. We should also, forgive ourselves of mistakes that we have made in the past. The past is the past. We should not stay in the past, but use the past to learn from the mistakes!
You may be saying, “It’s easy for you to say because you have never been in my position!” Yes, you may be right. But it does not make one’s hurt emotion different from another person. We have all experienced hurt, rejection and pain from loved ones, strangers and people. No situation is different to another person when it comes down to hurting emotions. Forgiveness brings healing and with healing brings joy. The act of forgiveness sees blood pressure and heart rate lowered, reducing the levels of depression and anxiety. Resentment is self-inflicted and will always hurt you more than the person who you are angry with. In fact, the person may have moved on with their life over the years and you’re still worrying about it!!
According to the Bible, we have to forgive so that God can forgive us (Matthew 18:22). We cannot expect God to forgive us when we are holding on to grudges with someone else (Ephesians 4:32).
The key factor is to take a leap of faith and forgive in order to receive your healing through forgiveness.
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