Here comes the subject that we all hate talking about… Forgiveness.
During the weekend I decided to fast because I really felt that the Lord was leading me closer to him. Although I did not know why I was fasting I assumed God wanted to give me deeper revelation on him, but turns out God wanted to reveal some things about myself to me.
The night before my fast started I was reading a book I have recently picked up called Forgiving what you can’t forget by Lysa Terkeurst (I highly recommend this book). It was in the middle of Chapter 3 that I realized that God was speaking to me about unforgiveness and I cringed at the thought. I cringed because I thought to myself - “ugh, I LITERALLY DON’T WANT TO DO THIS! Lord, I have forgiven people already, why do I need to keep forgiving?”
It was then that I realized as the words flew off the page that maybe I haven’t truly forgiven or I have but when a trigger occurs, I look back and dwell on the offense again. I like to believe that I have always walked in forgiveness but the truth is that there are somethings that I have held onto without notice, not because I have wanted to but because the pain ran so deep. Have you been in this situation?
Here are some things I felt the Lord say this weekend during my fast:
Galatians 5:1 - It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
When you have unforgiveness you have yoked yourselves to slavery
Christ has set us free
Stand firm - do not submit to the works of the flesh such as unforgiveness.
Galatians 5:13-15 - You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not
use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For
the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as
yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by
each other.
Freedom is for the children of God.
Indulging in the flesh can look like (based of Galatians 5:19-21):
Sexual immorality
Moral impurity
Promiscuity
Idolatry
Sorcery
Hatred
Strife
Jealousy
Outburst of anger
Selfish ambition
Dissensions (disagreements)
Factions (Division)
Envy
Drunkenness
Carousing
(Do the words in red look like characteristics of unforgiveness to you?)
Serve one another in love
If you BITE and DEVOUR you too will be destroyed
Do not be consumed with unforgiveness
Galatians 5:16-17: So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of
the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Galatians 5:22 describes the fruit of the Spirit:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faith
Gentleness
Self-Control
When you are truly guided by the Spirit of God you are able to overcome the works of the flesh- including anything that has to do with unforgiveness.
The scripture says “The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit.” This word in Greek is rooted in lust, craving, longing, desiring what is forbidden.
The Bible uses these two phrases to define the flesh and the spirit:
Works of the flesh: in the original language “works” means to be employed/ business
Who does your flesh work for? (influenced by the enemy)
Fruit of the Spirit: in the original language “fruit” means it has originated from something- it is an effect or result.
Where is your spirit produced from? (God)
Your flesh is employed but your Spirit is produced
Galatians 5:24 - Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires
We are called to crucify anything that does not align with our spirit, but aligns with our flesh.
Unforgiveness aligns with our fleshly desires… how?
In my moment with the Lord this weekend I decided to invest in understanding unforgiveness. Along with studying scripture I also listened to a great sermon by Tony Evans called Forgiveness is key to your freedom and fullness in life. Truly, I tell you that before I even listened to the sermon the Lord had already given me the scripture of Genesis 50:15 but I could not understand why. It was when I decided to listen to the sermon that I realized that God was providing the answer. Tony spoke about the story of Joseph and how forgiveness can be learned simply by just reading his story. I encourage you to listen to this sermon, but here are some of my favorite quotes or takeaways:
“Unforgiveness must be addressed if you want to reach your destiny”
“Many of us are being hindered from our destiny because we are being held hostage by a leash around our souls called unforgiveness”
Tony’s definition of unforgiveness: “The decision to no longer credit the account of the offender”
There are two types of forgiveness
Unilateral
Transactional
Jesus on the cross said “Father, forgive them” - because he was in the purpose of God
“God believes in justice and vengeance, and he doesn’t need your help”
“Forgiveness crosses you over to the supernatural”
“God recycles pain to his purpose”
In all - I realized that God has been releasing keys of forgiveness to me. He has been teaching me the power that un-forgiveness has in our lives. So many times I have said “I forgive_____ “ yet have been tortured by the PTSD it has caused in my memory. Forgiveness is a process, “a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end” (Dictionary.com). Forgiveness does not end at just declaring “I forgive ____”, but it continues as we intercede for the one who has caused us pain.
Exodus 10:17: Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and pray and
entreat the LORD your God, so that He will remove this death from me.
Forgiveness means we must:
Forgive the person
Intercede for that person
Only God can take away/ remove judgement
“Vengeance is mine”
Brothers and sisters, let us move towards forgiveness together, encouraging one another to walk in the freedom Christ has given us. No longer will we yoke ourselves to unforgiveness, instead let us choose to forgive, intercede, and completely finish the process.
We no longer walk in the works of the flesh, but we choose to become a full production of the spirit.
Comments