Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” Today's episode tackles a difficult subject. Today I am talking about how important it is to forgive. I am also explaining that although forgiving someone is hard, it is not impossible when we invite God into the situation. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
What If I Don’t Want To Forgive?
Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
Jesus is our guide. He came down to earth to show us how we should be acting. He came down to teach us that the Lord our God is love. He is trying to guide us to springs of the water of life, but we keep wanting to do our own thing. We don’t want to follow in his foot steps. Why don’t we? Because it is hard. Jesus said to love everyone, even our enemies. Is this even possible? Jesus wants us to forgive, but aren’t there some people that just can’t be forgiven? Shouldn’t be forgiven?
I wonder if we all realize what forgiveness is? Forgiveness is not telling the other person that what they did was right, or ok. It was not ok what they did. It is not forgetting what happened or excusing it in anyway. Forgiveness is admitting to yourself that this terrible thing did happen, that you can’t change it, so you are releasing any hold that it has over you. I know forgiveness is hard. In some cases it seems impossible. However, it is so necessary. God tells us right in the Our Father Prayer, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. God is going to forgive us to the same extent that we forgave others. Think about the things or the people that you are unable to forgive. Do you really want the inability to forgive them to get in the way of God forgiving you? There are some things that no matter how hard we try, we can not forgive. This is ok, we don’t have to do this on our own. God can step in and help us forgive. The only thing we must do is to ask him. To give Him permission to work in your heart to forgive. We had a word or prophecy given at our prayer group that I feel is so important to share.
“I ask you to forgive my children. I know that is a difficult command and at times may seem very impossible for you to do. But I remind you that I am with you always, and with me nothing is impossible. Bring your inability to me. Allow me to work with my grace through you, so that you can be my forgiving heart for all the world.”
In this word, the Lord is asking us to forgive. He is reminding us that even though we feel it is impossible, nothing is impossible in Him. In Matthew 19:26 Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” It also says in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We are not in this alone. We have God on our side and with that we can do anything. I love how God always shows up to remind us of things when we forget. I like how God is reminding us that He is always with us and then asking us to bring our inability to him. He is asking us to allow Him to work with His grace through us, so that we can bring His forgiving heart to all the world. How beautiful is that? How great is it that God not only wants to use his grace to heal our heart, but he wants us to be His forgiving heart for all the world.
God gave us free will. Can you imagine how frustrating it must be for Him to sit by and watch us squander all that he has provided for us? He would love nothing more than to rain down graces on us and yet we can’t be bothered to let him. God is not going to step in if we do not ask Him. He does not want to force us to love Him. The only way to ensure it is true love is to give us the choice to love him or not. Every day we have a choice to make. Are we going to choose God or are we going to choose something else? God has so much grace and so much mercy to give. He does not leave us alone to make these decisions. He is there for us every step of the way.
But we do need to make that choice. Once we do make that choice, He will be there to help us overcome all of the obstacles. And there will be obstacles. The life that God is asking us to live is not an easy life. Especially in this world right now. Forgiveness and love are two things that we are being called to do that are not the norm in society today. We live in a culture that does not want to forgive. We want to stay angry, blame other, and not even talk to someone that doesn’t think as we think. This is not what Jesus wants for us.
Jesus did not come to earth to be with people just like Him. He did not just hang around with those that believed like he believed. He didn’t find all the people that were getting it right in life. He came for those that were struggling. He came for those that needed Him. When he met these people, he did not meet them with judgement and unforgiveness. He met them with love and forgiveness. He accepted them as they were and encouraged them and helped them to become better.
How great would it be if we could do the same. If we could greet everyone we meet with the same love and acceptance that Jesus had. You may be thinking that you are different. Jesus could do that because he was man and God, so he had the Holy Spirit inside him to help him make the right choice. Guess what? So do you. You have the Holy Spirit inside of you and if you let Him, He will guide you to make the right choices as well. Just remember what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” You can do this! It is possible! Just take a moment and ask God for help.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we really want to forgive and yet we also don’t really want to forgive. Please help us. We give you permission right now to come into our lives, into our hearts and help us to forgive anyone we are struggling to forgive. Lord we want to be free to be forgiven by you. We want nothing in the way of that forgiveness. Dad, Abba, Father, please come to our aide and help us. Show us how to forgive. Prepare our hearts to forgive. Give us the strength and the grace to forgive. We trust you Lord. We love you! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk Boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!