Freedom in Forgiveness预览

Day One // Acknowledge Your Pain

“That offended me.”

This is a quote we hear way too much in our society. It’s become so common that we are almost immune to hearing it. You may not say it out loud, but I’m sure you have felt offended before. Actually, the fact that you are doing this plan proves that you are either currently offended, have been offended in times past, or are trying to protect yourself from becoming offended in the future. Hold tight, friend. Hope is not lost.

In this plan, we will dig deeper into what it means to actually be free from bitterness and offense. If it makes you feel better, I’m preaching to myself here too. You are not alone. The whole reason I'm writing this plan is because it’s what I am personally going through as well. Thanks be to God for His patience with us as we learn this. Thanks be to God that we're going through this together. You are not alone.

I’m the kind of person who tends to push emotions down when people or past situations have hurt me. I often make jokes about the issue at hand in an attempt to cover up the hurt I'm deeply experiencing within. Instead, I'm actually hindering my growth relationally, spiritually, and emotionally. First, a seed of bitterness gets planted from offense, and then a root grows.

It’s okay to feel pain. It’s not a sign of weakness—this is coming from the person who used to think it was—it's not. Hear me: pain is not a sign of weakness.

In order for you to be free from the bitterness and offense harbored in your heart, you must acknowledge that there is pain, and then you must try to identify it. Ask God to help you. He will.

Your homework is to pray and ask the Lord what offense you may be holding onto, and then, as painful as it sounds, to sit in the pain with Him. At first, it might not be fun. However, if you want to be healed, you must do this. Imagine you are showing God a huge cut on your arm—it’s bloody, deep, and it hurts severely. Then, imagine God touching it just once. And immediately, it starts healing. That is what I pray you feel and experience during this plan—healing.

I pray that each and every day will be full of healing in Jesus' name. Amen.