The Healing Power of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is choosing to surrender your right to hurt back those who have hurt you.
You must take any bitterness, un-forgiveness, resentment, your desire for revenge and release it. “Release your offender!”
One article I read said:
“Let me make sure that we clear up a few misunderstandings about forgiveness. Before we can build, we have to blast. We have to blast away the erroneous thoughts on what forgiveness is not. When you forgive a person, this does not mean you are immediately healed. When you forgive a person, this does not mean you are going to be buddy/buddy.
When we forgive a person, this does not mean we surrender the right to restitution or justice when appropriate. When we forgive a person, this does not mean that we trust them, yet.
When we forgive a person, we’re not avoiding pain, we are opening the door to healing. When we forgive, we take the journey at the pace we are able to handle…the deeper the hurt, the longer the journey.”
(Lewes Smedes)
Your forgiveness does not invalidate what happened to you. Your forgiveness doesn’t let the other person off the hook with God. You’re choosing to surrender it to God simply puts Him in control and not your feelings.
In your wounded-ness you may have wounded others. You may need to go to your wife, your son, your daughter, your parents, your siblings, your friend, your ex-wife and seek forgiveness. You may need to say in humility, “I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
Choose to forgive the Church that hurt you; that ex that wounded you, that friend who betrayed you; that parent who abandoned you; that person who made life miserable for you. It’s time to give it up, and let it go.
