Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Luke 6:28
It really all begins with forgiveness. Our lives will never be fully free unless we can fully forgive. I know! I have been the master of unforgiveness, harboring great grief and sadness for decades. I’ve also experienced the freedom of forgiveness that brings unimaginable joy. It begins with trust in God and His Word. It begins with Jesus. Aren’t you tired of carrying that burden? Jesus came for the freedom you long for. He took it all and He wants to heal your broken heart today….
When I cried out to God and said, Lord, what are you going to do with me? He simply said, “I’m going to heal you and mend your broken heart. I didn’t even know my heart was still broken. I thought I had forgiven and moved on.
So, how do you fully forgive someone you used to hate? This is so much easier said than done. We know as Christians we are to forgive, pray for and love those who hurt us, but It is easier to ignore and pretend it doesn’t matter rather than confront our unforgiveness. But God, in all his love and compassion, always intervenes…
It is so interesting that God is always in the midst of this forgiveness dilemma, preparing our hearts and working on us, not the other person. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? You can spend years asking God to fix the other person so that they’ll come running to you, begging for your forgiveness…but I’ve never had that happen. It’s always had to begin within me.
You see, God wants you to be healed and whole, free and alive to live the life worthy of His call. And little by little He’ll work on every detail so that you can be released from your hurt, allowing you to love others…even the person you used to hate.
How do you forgive? You just do. God will take care of the rest. It is when we simply choose to pray for them, for their salvation, for their healing, for them to feel forgiven and loved that God will begin to do something in you. And all that hate, anger and loss will turn into love and compassion. I pray that you begin to pray for those who have hurt you so that God can heal your broken heart. God loves you, you know. More than anything!
