“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
Today’s Word:
10 Steps to Releasing Forgiveness
Please prayerfully consider these steps and remember that Jesus is near to help you.
- Draw near to God in prayer and focus on Him first, not the problem. (James 4:8)
- Consider His Cross of suffering for you, and thank Him for taking your sins upon Himself and releasing His mercy to you. (Isaiah 53:5)
- Now think of the main wrongs your offender has done to you and give each one to Jesus. As you do this, receive His comfort and healing into your heart. (Psalm 72:12, Psalm 142:1-2)
- Remember that, “a wrong reaction is just as bad as a wrong action” and renounce the idea of punishing the person who has hurt you. (Leviticus 19:18, Romans 12:19)
- Let the Lord show you if there’s any responsibility you might have in the problem. (Matthew 3:8, 2 Corinthians 13:11)
- Consider the ways He might be using this situation for good. (Romans 8:28)
- Once you give your hurt to God, ask for His help to no longer dwell on this incident again. (Psalm 147:3)
- Declare your trust in Him, that He holds your destiny and you will not bow to bitterness even if this person continues to hurt you. With God’s help, you will not let this person who has hurt you rule your emotional life. (Romans 12:17-18, Psalm 3:3, Colossians 3:2-4)
- Thank God for His promise to restore fullness to your life. In Joel 2:25 He says, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm…”
- Ask God if there is anything you can do to show love to the person who has hurt you. Forgiveness is complete if you will allow Him to use you as an unrestricted channel of His love.
Scripture:
“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” -1 Peter 3:9
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” -Matthew 5:43-48
Forgiven.
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