No Forgiveness - No Freedom

When we allow this venom to invade our souls we become imprisoned denying ourselves of the very freedom that Christ died for us to have. I don't think many of us are aware of the damage that bitterness can cause in and around us but if we take the time to look closer we will see it's affects. For years like many of you I've struggled with forgiveness, I would want to forgive but that's something that just doesn't come easy for me. I'm amazed by people who are able to easily forgive a hurt or an offense, some people don't have to work at it at all. Unfortunately I'm not one of you, truth is...I need some time! Nevertheless I'd like to share what I have learned about the process that's helped me tremendously. I've learned though prayer and reading that everyone doesn't naturally have the ability to easily forgive but with prayer and effort we are able to bury the hatchet. Unforgiveness is an extremely powerful spirit, the bible says if we don't forgive others God won't forgive us, that shows you how powerful this spirit can be. I don't think that anyone who believes in God doesn't want to be forgiven by Him. I'm so glad that He understands us and has so much mercy! To harbor bitterness means we have to have had some kind of affection or level of trust for our offenders at some point and this is where the problem lies. We don't allow others to have faults, the deeper our love and trust for someone is the worse the impact will be if they let us down. For those of you who say the person didn't mean that much to you let's be honest, how many of us are affected in this way by a stranger or an acquaintance? As I said this isn't easy for me but I'm determined to get victory in this area of my life. I must say I've come a long way, my logic was the more you forgive-the more you will have to forgive. I'm a firm believer in "nipping it in the bud!" It's in our nature to push everything and everybody to the limit, we're all guilty of this in some way or another. I figured if I just cut people off I wouldn't have to worry about it happening again, so I would write them off the first time I felt they'd crossed me. Think about it, what positive things comes out of holding a grudge? Not one! You're sin's won't be forgiven by God, holding on to the memory of the hurt only makes the wound deeper which makes it take longer to heal and when we live this way we unintentionally give our offender control over us, that's ironic because that's the main thing we're trying keep. This all stems from fear, the fear of being hurt, disappointed, betrayed, rejected, made a fool of and all the other poisonous thoughts that we entertain. We come to the conclusion that if we don't forgive that will eliminate or lessen the chances of these sort of things happening to us. Unfortunately it's impossible to escape these things, as long as we have to deal with imperfect people in an imperfect world we all will continue to offend and be offended, so how can we do the right thing even when somebody else chooses not to? Make the choice to forgive, sometimes it comes easy and other times it's a long process but as long as you choose to forgive in your heart God will work out the rest.