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“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18 (KJV)

 Ever struggled to let go of a past offense?  Recently I was talking with someone who had been very hurt. They couldn’t let go of the offense; their peace and joy was gone.  They cringed even at the name of the person that had offended them.  Justifying their hurt, the person’s pain eventually evolved into bitterness.  

 When there is a root of bitterness,we cannot truly love others.  The love flow stops, and we cannot love with the love of God as long as we are holding on to grudges.   Instead of trusting God with the situation, we end up taking it upon ourselves to get even.  If we could only forgive and pray for those who have hurt us then we could truly learn to love with the love of God.  We cannot do this in our own power; however, we must ask God to fill us with His Spirit so that we can forgive.  Only as we are filled with His Spirit can we truly do this because forgiveness is a supernatural act.  God can and will do it through us if we pray and take steps to stop talking about our offenses.  The more we feed into them, the more bitter we will become.  We must give it to God instead of talking about it. Take it to the Lord in prayer, don’t take it to someone else. Inner joy and peace will be your reward, but the choice is yours.

“Lord I choose not to carry any grudges.  I choose to love my neighbor as myself.  I choose to keep my joy and my peace.  I forgive anyone who has offended me.”

For His Glory

Linda Shepherd
TRBC Mountain Blend