Forgiveness is freedom...

In the midst of what I deemed my most horrible tribulation. I opened my eyes hoping to see my circumstances clearer, but the tears blurred my vision. Completely helpless, I did the only thing left in my power...I forgave.



The following blog is inspired by something that I did this past weekend. I won't go into detail but I do know that it wasn't something that I would've normally done. I will say that I pro-actively sought forgiveness for a part that I played in a major hurtful experience. I really don't know what came over me but I felt that it was necessary for me to mature mentally and spiritually. Everything in me was SCREAMING..."Why should you do that?!"..."You did nothing wrong?"..."You look weak!" The truth of the matter is, I've triumped because there was something lifted within me after I did it. Do you have a giant in your life that's called unforgiveness or bitterness? This isn't easy to admit but I battle that giant constantly & daily. I know I am not alone. There are so many that hold grudges and harbor unforgiveness. Sometimes we battle this affliction for so long that we often forget or aren't even aware that it's there. I completely get it. When people hurt us or do something that we don't like, it's like death! That thing called betrayal is also the worst! Especially when its done by someone who's close to you & you love. This can be a friend, family member or significant other. It's often labled as "The Judas Kiss". It's my personal opinion that this experience is one of the most painfuls things to endure but when its all said in done, we are required to forgive. It seems soooo unfair to forgive. We often fight against it because we feel like they've "gotten away with it" if we do that. The reality of it all though is that forgiveness is for our benefit. I know for a fact that we only hurt ourselves when we harbor hate and unforgiveness. What sense does it make to spend the next ten years of your life hurting yourself as a result of someone who's hurt you? There's also those relationships with individuals that you have to practice a continual forgiveness with. These are the people that you work to forgive over and over. This is often due to different outlooks on life, personality differences,etc.. I know alot about this as well. Sometimes people simply "bump heads" but love each other enough to want to continue to be a part of each other's life. This is often seen within families and friendships. In the bible, Peter asked how many times should we fogive...7x's? Jesus answered 7 x 7. In the bible this number was a representation of perfection. This basically means infinity. Forgiveness is greatly emphasized in the bible because it's important towards our walk with God. The truth is when we harbor a grudge,unforgiveness, & hate, our heart is not seen as pure. You'll hear from God more clearly once pure in heart. Trust and believe that I know how hard it can be to forgive! I pray on it everyday. I find that if a person is earnest towards achieving forgiveness of others and constantly pray on it, he'll cause a steady growth within you to achieve this.  It is important to guard our heart because out of it flows life. Pray for your enemies. Immediately pray when you become offended by someone. Being offended keeps us from moving forward. The word "offense" comes from the Greek word, "skandalon". Skandalon was a part/piece within an animal trap. A bait was laid on it to lure and TRAP the victims. Being offended is a trap. It gets you caught up in the same offense over and over. From personal experience, when I am badly hurt by something or someone, I constantly think about it. I get up and it's basically on rewind within my mind. I constantly talk about it whether people want to hear it or not. Lol! It's basically like I'm rehearsing it over and over. It's time to LET IT GO.  The more that you talk about something, The deeper that it's rooted. The deeper it's rooted,the harder it is to get rid of but it is possible. We block the complete presence of God when we harbor that poison. There's nothing we need more than the presence of God. In his presence is fullness of joy. You won't have great quality of life with unforgiveness.  It's an everyday process to forgive. You have to constantly CHOOSE to do this. So many times we're often educated way beyond our level of obedience. I say this because I know many of us say " The Lord's Prayer". Within that prayer we ask him to "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". Now, how many of us truly forgive those that have hurt us deeply? You do know that he does forgive us as we fogive others right? This means if we haven't truly forgiven others then we are not forgiven. Some of you may be in denial and say, "I'm not harboring unforgiveness". If that's the case, then good for you but to truly check your heart, ask yourself the following questions: Do you pray blessings for them? Are you truly happy when you hear that they are being blessed? Do you find yourself rehashing a certain offense of one person and placing it on different people or circumstances? Example: All men/women are liars and are selfish because *beep* was that way. Also do you get just as angry about the offense like you did when it first happened?  Be real with yourself. I'm sure you know the answers to those questions. Good for you if you can honestly say you've forgiven everyone who's offended you! We simply cannot afford to be mad at each other. People sometimes don't know the extent of their actions while others do. How many times have you hurt someone and didn't know it or care & they went away deeply wounded? Think about that when you harbor anger. Learn to give what you want to receive. This is a raging battle among many. Sometimes you may have an off day & everything hurts your feelings. Ask for revelation. Learn to recognize this & just avoid certain situations. I've gotten good at that. I'll sort of go into solitude. You won't see or hear from me on social networks or whatnot because I'm refocusing and meditating. I do this because, I don't want to have a distorted interpretation of different actions and conversations due to being caught up in my feelings. Know that when we let anger move into our heart that it causes love to grow cold in our hearts. Please don't mistake me for saying that all relationships can be restored or that people can become best friends & "buddy buddy". That won't be the case all of the time but it really does bring peace. In Life we all have to endure hurt and pain, for that is what defines who we are. We tend to hold onto those past hurt and pains….oh what a burden that is to carry. It’s those burdens that cause bitterness….hate….anger…sleepless nights. It causes a heart to become heartless, a heart that is so cold, that it’s afraid to love and except love in return.  Keep in mind that forgiveness activates your faith as well as causes your prayers to actually reach the father because the heart has become cleaned. I know some will argue that we can't help how we feel but who said we were simply made of feelings? Until we can learn to do what's right while it still FEELS wrong, we will continue to struggle and not pass that particular test. Whenever you stand praying,if you have anything against anyone, let it GO.  Where there's unity, there's blessing and annointing. You can't pray the prayer of agreement with someone that you're constantly judging, criticizing, & talking about behind their back. Let's learn to let it go even WITHOUT the apology of the other person. I promise you won't regret it. Contrary to popular belief, you're not weak, you're EMPOWERED. Take your power back. Forgiveness is freedom! It matters not if the world has heard or approves or understands, the only applause we are meant to seek is that of the nail-scarred hands. Selah.

Peace, Love, and Blessings,

Nata Bee

copyright © 2011 Renate' Bender