Is there anyone you cannot forgive?
Have you ever thought, “I’ll forgive them, but I will never forget it.”
Not being able to forgive is tied to hurt. But sometimes we are so angry or outraged, we cannot admit someone got to us … and it hurt.
You cannot rewrite history. It is what it is, but it does not have to be now what it was then.
Jesus showed His Wounds to Thomas. He let Thomas get very personal with Him. He told Thomas to reach into His wound.
But He did so, knowing He would not feel the pain. Was this because He was super human? No, Jesus was human, but He was also filled with The Healing Power of God.
That same Power is available to you. You may have scars, but you can be free of the pain.
Why does the human body show scars? It is a reminder, not just that we were wounded, but also that we survived. We healed. The evidence is still there, but not the pain.
We accept with gratitude the body’s natural physical healing, but we do not always do the same with our emotions, which affect our spiritual healing.
When we go over and over again things that caused us pain, it is like picking a scab off of a wound. It cannot heal. It still hurts.
We still feel angry with the person who caused the wound. We feel we cannot forget them. We feel we cannot forgive them.
Sometimes in an effort to free ourselves from the memory, we try to forget the person who caused the pain. This is nearly impossible.
The memories of that person are not only tied to the hurt, they are tied to other things too. So just hearing a song or being back in a certain location can bring the memory of that person and unwanted memories with them.
What can we do to practice true forgiveness?
Acknowledge your pain to God.
Tell God everything. He knows already, but He wants to hear it from you. It is like draining a wound.
Receive healing from God.
And then, remember the person who hurt you — not their actions, but the person.
Ask God to let you see them as He created them to be … not what they became, not what other people said they were, not who you thought they were. Just focus on what would have been the best version of that person, the one made in The Image of God.
We begin to crack our shell of hardness of heart if we can think of even one good trait.
Pray for them that they blossom into all God created them to be. Pray that they know God.
Then release them to God and be confident He will complete the work in that person and in you.
Yes … in you … that you allow God to complete His refining and restorative work in you.
Ask God if there is anything else you need to do. Sometimes He may prompt you to connect with that person. Sometimes He will simply say, “Let Me handle this now.”
And then rest in God’s Presence and receive forgiveness as you have forgiven.
For if you forgive others for their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matthew 6:14
