What comes to your mind when you hear the word forgive? That can be a loaded question, right?!?
Is forgiveness something that you hope to receive, but you struggle to give? Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, I would submit that this statement is true.
“Not forgiving someone who has wronged you is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person dies.”
Think about that for a moment. So often, when we hold on to the anger and bitterness, it just eats away at us. We’ve all had people who have wronged us in our lives. It may have been in the past, or it may be happening right now. Either way, we have a choice. You have a choice. Forgive that person, or let it eat you alive.
Forgiveness is NOT EASY!
Years ago, Staples had a fun advertising ad where they said they could easily fix all our office needs. Just hit the easy button and Staples will fix it. I so wish it was that way for us and forgiveness.
There is a wild little book in the Bible called Hosea. In the book, God called Hosea to take back his wife, “Gomer” (yes, a very odd name for a lady). One problem for Hosea was that his wife had been unfaithful in their marriage. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, had cheated on him not once, but multiple times and was currently with another man. Talk about a tough marriage situation!
God asked Hosea to take back his wife to symbolically show his people how He still loves us in spite of us turning our backs on him multiple times. (Hosea 3:1)
Hosea boldly went out and took his wife back, and he loved her unconditionally. The people saw this and had an amazing one-sentence reply.
“Come, let us return to the Lord.” (Hosea 6:1)
So Simple—Return to God
So often we humans like to make things so complicated, but it can be very simple. Let’s forgive others and forgive ourselves, and then return to God. Allow him to do his best work in us today.
Who do you need to forgive? I encourage you to take a few minutes right now to think about that. Now I encourage you to go to God for comfort and peace.
What do you need God to forgive in you? Be honest with yourself. I encourage you to go to God right now and allow him to forgive you immediately. Scripture encourages us so beautifully with this verse,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
