The Power To Forgive
” . . . bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (Col. 3:13 NKJ)
Forgiveness in itself carries tremendous power to bring freedom to the one who forgives, but the power to forgive often seems to be far-fetched. You may want to forgive, but just find yourself unable to muster the ability to do so.
Thankfully, there is hope for us in Christ. The scripture above gives us God’s plan to unleash the power to forgive in our lives. It says, ” . . . forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” God forgives you and that empowers you to forgive another. Notice that as a believer in Christ, the Lord is not asking you to do His will by your own strength.
But you might think you have not done anything as bad as what the one who hurt you has done. Well, this might shock you, but the very fact that you are still holding a grudge against someone means you have already gone outside of God’s Word. It means that you are sinning yourself and that you are in need of forgiveness from God.
Forgiving someone else will often begin with asking God to forgive us. As you focus on the forgiveness you received in Christ, the power to forgive another will be released within you.
Receive strength from the Holy Spirit to forgive someone else as you reflect on how God has already forgiven you and continues to forgive you each day. Remember that forgiveness is a decision and not a feeling. The feelings will catch up later with the decision!
MEDITATE
How many times should we forgive someone in a day? Matt. 18:21-22.
APPLY THE WORD
Do not go to bed today without forgiving that pastor, sister, brother, friend, etc. When you do forgive them, you may still have some feelings – but remember that your forgiveness was a decision, not a feeling!
PRAY
Thank the Lord for always being so willing to forgive you no matter what you have done.
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