Freedom
I can't even express to you how much freedom I have experienced since I walked through the journey of forgiveness. The burden that was removed from me was huge... and I have experienced tremendous growth in the Lord!
Holding on to un forgiveness actually was a hindrance in my relationship with the Lord. It was a roadblock. All those times I prayed and felt my prayers were going no higher than the ceiling made sense now.....there was a blockage in the lines of communication.
Once I started digging in to studying what the bible had to say about the importance of forgiveness, I realized that forgiveness plays a huge part in the plan of salvation. If you let the forgiveness of your sins from our Father in Heaven penetrate your heart, forgiveness will flow through you to others.
Forgiveness is not the means to salvation- It's proof of your salvation. Forgiven people forgive.
Here is just a few scriptures to see the importance forgiveness plays in your walk:
Mark 11:25 "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Wow! Do you see the implication of this? Jesus, our King, paid the ultimate price for our sins by laying His life down and nailing all our sins and burdens to the cross. He forgave us of everything! The unpayable debt! Then, even after we have been forgiven much, feel we have the right to hold un forgiveness to those in our life who hurt us. Let the forgiveness from our Father penetrate your heart.
You've probably heard this saying before, but, It has been said that holding onto un forgiveness is like drinking poison expecting the other person to die. Just let that sink in.
I know there are many unspeakable things that happen in this life... but if you seek God and His forgiveness, He will take you step by step down a pathway to healing!
I found a great article about finding God's purpose in the midst of our pain and suffering. Here's just a snipet:
"Because God loves us, His greatest desire is to be close to us and for us to love Him. God uses every circumstance in our lives as an opportunity for us to draw closer to Him. But because we are innately selfish, we are vulnerable to every self-indulgent distraction. Before long, we’ve become completely disconnected from God. Suffering has no purpose unless it draws us – or those around us – closer to God, which I think is why He allows it and created it in the first place."
I highly encourage you to read on http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/BibleStudyAndTheology/discipleship/Ahrens_Gods_Purpose_in_Suffering.aspx
It's a beautiful day! Go out and enjoy it!
In His love,
An-g
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