Forgiving When It Hurts

For most of us, forgiving sometimes feels like the hardest
thing to do…  You know like forgiving the
person who broke your heart, stole from you, violated and lied to you,
purposely set out to harm you, and the one you trusted with your life, but in
return they used your trust as a weapon against you. 

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve struggled with forgiving.  I’ve found myself wanting others to pay for
the things they’ve done.  I wanted them
to feel what I felt and being honest, I wanted their worlds to crumble right
before their eyes.  The memories of their
actions constantly ran through my mind and I spent countless hours thinking
about all that was done.  I was pissed and
not only at them, but myself.  One day
turned into two and two turned into seven… Before I realized it, two weeks had
pasted and I was still upset about something I was no longer in control
of. 

When I took inventory of the past two weeks, I realized how
the anger was a toxin in my life, everything was suffering.  Task at work were left undone, my desk was a
mess, my home was a mess, my car was a mess, and my MIND was a mess.  The amount of time and attention I was giving
to the past blinded me to what was going on in the present.   I became the victim and fell prey to the
enemy.  So many times we give satan
credit for things we’re doing to ourselves. 
He had nothing to do with what was going on with me, I was the culprit
and if I didn’t hurry and pull it together, I was going to lose the battle raging
in my mind…

The truth is… You have to forgive even when it hurts…  So many people have the concept of “forgiveness”
wrong.  Pain reminds them of how they’ve
been hurt … Hurt displays their brokenness… 
Brokenness releases toxins that kill all other areas of their
lives.  It’s true, forgiving can be hard,
but holding on is harder… I became weak and found myself consumed with things I
could not change, but once I realized how I was only hurting myself, I turned
things around.  I’ve learned you have to
program your mind to counter the negative with a positive.  When the memories of your past arise, say to
it, “I forgive and release you and I bless you with all I want and more”.  As hard as this must seem, you have to do it.  Release it out of your being, so you can fill
it with things that will benefit you. 
There are no benefits of remaining hurt, but there are numerous of being
healed…