Forgiveness as a Lifestyle

Have you developed forgiveness as a lifestyle? If you haven’t, you are missing out. Forgiveness is a gift that you give yourself.

Unforgiveness it’s like a cancer; it permeates your soul and can cause a hard heart. I was counseling a lady about someone that she needed to forgive and her response was “never!” She had made up her mind to disobey God, who tells us to pray for our enemies.

21Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Matthew 18

We also have to forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ, our family and our friends. It’s a loving command.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matthew 6:14

So forgiveness is a thing. It’s necessary for the Christian. We all know that, but putting it into practice is another thing. I have found that when I forgive right away, it’s easier. The longer I hold onto some thing, the harder it is to let it go.

The forgiveness lifestyle brings joy to you. The other people who do bad things against you are still responsible to God for their actions.

What if you can’t forgive? Bring it to God! David did. Psalms 35 and 36 are imprecatory prayers to God.

DEFINITION FOR IMPRECATE (1 OF 1)verb (used with object), im·pre·cat·ed,im·pre·cat·ing.

1. to invoke or call down (evil or curses), as upon a person. Source:dictionary.com

God knows everything in the depths of your heart, so anything that you bring to God isn’t a surprise to Him! Pray these two psalms and see if God changes your heart. You may even get a chuckle with a few of the lines in them.

Praying scripture is powerful and transforming. God wants to change each one of us into His likeness. He set the example on the cross by forgiving those who crucified Him.

Make a list of those you need to forgive and just do it with God’s help. Sometimes it’s easier to forgive others when we take a look inward and realize we have caused other suffering too. We’ve lied and betrayed others, often the ones that are closest to us. For me, realizing I was a problem and had sinned against God willfully while receiving His Grace made me realize I needed to extend grace to others.

When I completely forgave my earthly father for abandoning me as an infant, I found my Heavenly Father’s presence so strongly. When I completely forgave my mother for more than I’m ready to share here, I found nurturing friends with an acceptance I never had as a kid.

Forgiveness gives you more than you give up. Practice quick and total forgiveness and I assure you, your life will change for the better.