Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
I once awoke from spiritual slumber to the realization that I had led myself into the stronghold of unforgiveness and offense.
After I came to myself, I decided I had had enough. It was time to forgive and move on. I wanted to forgive, I needed to forgive, I was ready to forgive. But guess what! Unforgiveness was not ready to let me go. As I tried to free myself from the darkness of unforgiveness, I found myself chasing my tail.
The dictionary of Bible themes defines forgiveness as “the freeing of a person from guilt and its consequences, including punishment; usually as an act of favor, compassion or love, with the aim of restoring a broken personal relationship.”
Our Heavenly Father is a God of love. He is forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call on Him (Psalm 86:5). He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger …, He does not treat us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:8-12).
The Scriptures are full of His promises of love and forgiveness toward us. Since we are all recipients of God’s grace and forgiveness, we ought to extend the same freedom to others. We are commanded by Christ to forgive one another, not seven times, but seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:22). In other words, we should lose count. If we choose to ignore His command to forgive, our habit of unforgiveness will lead us on a downward spiral till we find ourselves bound by a stronghold.
Have you ever wanted to forgive someone but found yourself trapped in the stronghold of unforgiveness? How do you get out?
How to Break the Chains of Unforgiveness
1)First of all, realize that on your own, you can do nothing. However, shout for joy because you can do all things through Christ, who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13).
2) Repent, confess your sin, and ask God for forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
3)Pray and pray some more!! Press into the presence of God. Pray for your adversaries (Matthew 5:44). Bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14).
4)Laziness won’t get you out of a stronghold. Dig into the word of God. Spend copious amounts of time meditating on God’s love and His unending flow of compassion and mercies towards us. Study scripture on God’s commandment to love. Meditate on 1 Corinthians 13. The word of God will shape your thinking so that when you are tempted to walk in unforgiveness, you will be able to cast down the vain imaginations and replace them with Scriptures (2 Corinthians 10:5).
5)Open your mouth and speak the word over the situation (Mark 11:23). Whenever you are reminded of the hurts caused by another, confess your love for them by faith and speak God’s word over them. This will weaken the stronghold and quicken your healing process.
6)Make a decision to make forgiveness a commitment. See below.
7)Finally, be alert and awake, for your enemy prowls around looking for someone to swallow up (1 Peter 5:8). Commit your ways to the Lord and resist spiritual slumber. As you move forward, learn to forgive quickly and do not keep records of things that people have done to offend you.
Conclusion
God delivered me from the stronghold of unforgiveness, and He restored my soul. I have made a decision to commit to a lifestyle of love and forgiveness.
My prayer for you is that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ for you (Ephesians 3:18). And as you bask in the love of God, I pray that His love and forgiveness will overflow from you to the people in your world; both the deserving and the undeserving.
Amen!
Note: These principles can be applied to breaking free from other negative emotions such as pride, jealousy, greed, etc
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Except where indicated, Scriptures are taken from the NIV.
Thank you for these beautiful words of wisdom. Thank Jesus for forgiving us and lavishing His mercy on us. Because of His generosity, we can truly set others free!
Thanks also for the practical steps to make this a reality.
God bless your beautiful blog?
As we have all received freely from God, we should all give freely to others.
Thank you Pastor Helen for your encouraging words.
Chizobam
Thank you for this wonderful encouragement and truth this evening. Have a blessed week, Compel sister!
Thank you so much Carolina for the encouragement. It’s all God’s grace. Chizobam
Chizobam,
I must confess I never knew you were the author this blog. Let me say I have been personally blessed and inspired by the themes and the way they were beautifully crafted. The sincerity and sometimes humour with which your posts are written is also inspirational.. I think that’s one talent you share with Nadia. I am also humbled beyond measure that the Lord allowed me to be part of this spiritual journey. In the words of Apostle Paul, I have no joy than to hear that you are walking in the truth…. and your faith is growing exceedingly. You are a blessing and my day is made.
Thank you so much Dr. Sule for the encouragement. I am grateful that you persevered in leading me to Christ. I was hopelessly lost and many attempted before you but the difference was that you kept at it in love. When asked how I came to Christ, my response is usually ‘God sent an angel to me who did not let go of me till I gave in to Christ.’ Thank you for being my angel. My regards to your wife and kids. Chizobam
I know exactly what you mean about the feeling ” chasing my tail ” in order to forgive . Kenneth Hagin taught about ” forgiving and forgetting ” . Not very popular with some . But it is a key . Enjoyed very much both your content and good writing style. Well done .
Hello Alan,
Thank you for your encouragement. It’s all God’s grace.
Yes, “forgiving and forgetting” is extremely vital to living a strife-free life. Kenneth Hagin also taught that if your prayers are not working out, the first place you should check is your love and forgiveness walk. I’m grateful to God, that after all these years, I’m finally walking the walk!
Have a blessed day.
super! love the commitment sheet and the call to not be lazy to dig in and allow for God’s transformation. next to you at coffee this am
I’m niggling over a post on forgiveness too so this should help. x sue
Hello Sue,
Thanks for visiting.
We all need ‘forgiveness reminders.’
I will be visiting your blog.
Have a peaceful weekend.
I appreciate the points you’ve shared here, particularly that Jesus’ command to forgive 70 x 7 times means we should lose count. I love the way you phrased that! I would add that a helpful step for forgiveness is to remember how much you’ve been forgiven. Each of us is a recipient of lavish grace and forgiveness from our Lord; the natural response to the grace we’ve been given is to humbly let it overflow onto others. Thanks for sharing this with us at Grace & Truth!
Hello Jennifer,
You are absolutely right. We ALL are recipients of His extravagant grace and forgiveness. What a privilege!
As we have received freely, we should also freely offer forgiveness to others.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
You are blessed.
Chizobam
Sometimes it’s hard to forgive especially if we have been hurt. Prayer is a central part to freeing ourselves of the grip of unforgiveness.