Forgiveness.
Where do I begin? Forgiveness is a challenge for most Christians. And so, when something appears challenging we must go to the Word of God. This past Saturday, Sister Gaddis and I begin a Bible Study to dig a little deeper into the area of forgiveness. One of the best examples in the Bible is Joseph. Joseph, who was favored by his father, forsaken by his brother and forgotten by the baker in order that Joseph would be in position to bring about a much greater plan. God's plan.
Principle Number 1
"When wronged by others never take God's place."
After all that had been done to Joseph, in Genesis 50, his father had died and his brothers were worried he would take revenge on them. At verse 15 his brothers devised a plan to tell Joseph their deceased father wanted him to forgive them. Upon hearing these words Joseph wept. We do not know why he wept. However, using my sanctified imagination along with the context of the text, I would say he wept because after seventeen years of him lavishing love upon his brothers and their families they still did not know him nor see the God he was displaying.
And this is where I want to land today. Genesis 50:19 says, But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? In other words, I am not God to judge your wrongdoing. My obligation to our God is to forgive you. To love you. To show kindness to you. And if you are on the other side of the spectrum, your obligation is to receive the "I'm sorry." Now let me put a footnote here and say, "Forgiveness is required even if the person never apologizes." Why? Because forgiving someone is being obedient to God's command and when you do not forgive you are being disobedient.
The spirit of unforgiveness is demonic. We must look at the origin of the wrong not at the person. We must also never forget that God forgave us and forgives us. One additional thing we must remember we have wronged others. Furthermore, on any given day the enemy can use us to wrong someone else.
I want to leave you with this point to ponder and then pray about. When you harbor unforgiveness you are dead. Wherever you picked up the hurt, bitterness, and resentment is still your current address. Days, months and even years may have passed you remain stuck. You are going through the motions of life. Also, whatever you are doing in the name of the Lord is not received. God does not receive our worship when we have a bad heart. Unforgiveness equals a bad heart. Singing - not received. Serving-not received. Shouting-not received. Why go through all that when you can use God's strength and forgive. Get in the Word of God and fall in love with His law. When you do, the psalmist says, "Nothing will cause you to stumble."
"Don't allow what someone has done to you to keep you from ALL that God has for you." (Hot off the press. Thank you Holy Spirit.)
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