Freedom Through Forgivenessنموونە

Forgiveness Allows You to Move Forward

Let’s go back to the monkey with his hand holding the bait in the trap. Can you imagine being free from the trap? Many people are trying to move forward in life, but are not, and they can't figure out what the problem is. The problem is that they are holding on to unforgiveness.

When someone is holding on to unforgiveness, almost every relationship hits a shallow ceiling, or they only achieve some of their dreams. When it comes to personal growth, they stay stuck in the same place. When this happens, they will eventually become frustrated.

When we hold on to unforgiveness for a long time, it becomes a natural way to live, and those habits will affect every relationship in our lives.

Once unforgiveness becomes a habit, you hold on to the pain of every sort of offense from anyone in your life. How can you grow while holding on to the pain from every relationship? You can't. It is impossible. A shift in our thinking must happen.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. - Philippians 4:8-9 NLT emphasis added

When you use these verses as the filter for your thoughts, unforgiveness can't become a habit.

Relationships

People today are holding on to pain so tightly that even when someone in a present relationship does something good for them, they don't see it. The person holding on to the pain will associate the present pain with the past pain, and to them, it will feel the same.

Now, the other person in the present relationship has no idea what is really going on, so they don't understand why the person is responding the way they are, and as a result, the relationship stops growing.

After this happens, the person holding on to the pain tends to blame everyone else for their lack of relationships, but ignores the fact that there is a common denominator in all of these relationships: themselves.

Someone who lives a life of forgiveness, on the other hand, handles offense differently. They let go of the pain of the past. When someone who lives a life of forgiveness is offended by someone in the present, they don't associate the offense with someone from their past. They see it as an isolated incident. This is huge because how you see the offense will determine how you handle it.

A person who forgives is less likely to "take it out" on people in their current life.

People who forgive have healthy, strong relationships because they are not comparing the present to the past. They are free from that, so they understand that even though someone in the present may do something that reminds them of someone in the past, they know that they are not in the same situation.

Goals

Unforgiveness is rooted in fear. Fear has a way of infiltrating various aspects of life when it is present. The fear that causes you to choose unforgiveness is the same fear that will hold you back from achieving your goals.

Relationships play a crucial role in achieving your goals. No matter what your dreams, goals, and aspirations are, you need people to help you. If you are living a life of unforgiveness, you will be afraid to step out and chase your dreams. Or, if you do, since you don't have any strong relationships to keep you going, you will eventually quit.

Purpose

This leads to you not living out the purpose and plans that God has for you. The goals that you want to pursue lead to the plans that God has for your life. God made you with the desires and dreams to do what He wants you to do. When you don't forgive, it will also affect you in this way.

God uses relationships in your life to help you accomplish the purpose that He has for you. You were never meant to be alone in a vacuum. You need relationships for your purpose. God said it wasn't good that man was alone. That wasn't just for marriage; it was also for friends. That's why, in Hebrews, He encourages us to come together as often as possible.

Forgiveness sets you free to live your life and do what God called you to do. I would say that you can't do everything that God wants you to do unless you live a life of forgiveness.

Choose to live a life of forgiveness! It will change everything.