Journal Entry ~ 10/19/18

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6:14-15

Forgiveness is critical to our well-being. Hanging on to bitter feelings of unforgiveness is not only destructive to our eternal souls, it is damaging to our current state of mind. God didn't design our brains to hold on to feeling of bitterness or unforgiveness - He designed us to let it go. So when we harbor the "unforgivable" sin in our heart, nursing it and bringing it up again and again, we are destroying the supernatural peace that can only come from Him. 

When we pray for that peace to surround us, we need to check our hearts for unforgiveness. Perhaps there is an unresolved issue somewhere in our hearts that we need to let go. God's peace can't settle in where unforgiveness exists. If we're not receiving the peace we're asking for, perhaps we need to confess our sin of unforgiveness. 

I used to struggle so much more with unforgiveness - I was raised in a home of conditional love, so I learned very early to withhold my love if I was hurt. I used to believe that if someone hurt me, then I would punish them by withholding my friendship or attention. How arrogant was I?  

While I was carrying the burden of unforgiveness on my back, nursing it and rolling around the negative feelings in my head, the other person was off doing their own thing, often barely aware that I was upset. Take a step back and look at that....who was the one being punished?  I was. 

We're the only ones carrying the burden of unforgiveness - the person who hurt us is often unaware how deep our wounds are. Learning how to release people from the punishment of withholding our forgiveness is one of the greatest ways God has transformed my heart. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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