Self-Imposed Prison Cell

Everyone has been hurt, offended, betrayed and mistreated at some point. Sometimes those wounds are small and easy to move past. But other times, they’re deep and take time to heal. The important thing is that we choose to forgive so that we can open the door to God’s healing in our lives. You see, we don’t forgive in order to let the other person off the hook. No sweetheart, it’s to let YOU off the hook.

Forgiveness is such a powerful tool. Forgiveness sets you free! The poison of unforgiveness is very self-destructive. It places a wedge between you and your divine destiny. It keeps you tied up in knots while most times, the person you’re upset at couldn’t care less. The angrier you are, the more that person and/or incident stays on your mind, which only creates a vicious cycle of frustration and hurt. Unforgiveness becomes your prison cell and only you have the key to get out.

This doesn’t mean you have to embrace the person who hurt you back in your life. You may never even tell the person you’ve forgiven them. This is something you do for YOU. Buddha said, "Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Release yourself so you can move past that bad spot and open yourself to be able to accept God’s new and amazing level of healing and peace and joy. If you allow God to handle it He promises that you will receive double of everything stolen from you and it will be BETTER than whatever you once had.

Maybe you feel today like your prayers aren’t getting through. The bible says, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive them and let it drop, leave it, let it go...” When you pray, invite the Lord to search your heart. Choose to forgive anyone that has hurt you. As you commit to walking in forgiveness, you’ll experience more of His favor in ways you never thought possible. When you allow Him to help heal and restore you, you’ll begin to move forward into the amazingly blessed and abundant life He has in store for you.