Forgiving Myself

“Broken relationships, hurts, pain, disappointments, friends who didn’t like me…” 

One of the greatest hindrances to fulfilling our destiny are the undealt areas of unforgiveness in our lives. It is not what happened to us that really affects us the greatest, but it is our perception of the incident. Instead of looking at God and who He is, we spend time focusing on the person who offended us, and become like them.

Asking For Forgiveness (Photo credit: hang_in_there)

Why become like the person who offended you?

God made us with the capacity to love Him with all our heart soul and  mind. We only have one emotional focus and it should be used to focus our attention on loving God. We become what we look upon the most. It takes time and energy to keep remembering and looking at the offense that someone has done to us.

But time is too precious.

In the days of the Roman Empire, if a person killed another, the dead body was strapped to the body of the one who killed him. Over time, the decay of the dead body would began to seep through the pores to the one who carried it. It would eventually poison the person carrying the body, and he would die.

Living in unforgiveness is like strapping the unforgiven person to you. The poison of holding him will eventually seep into your own life and poison you. When you hold onto unforgiveness, you are spiritually tied to the very thing that you hate. Forgiveness is setting the other person free so that you can also be free.

Forgiveness releases both parties. Sometimes, the party you are angry with in this present situation, might be someone in your past that you have never forgiven, and you are reminded of him.

One of the greatest healing moments in my life is when I listed all the things that I didn’t like about myself, and the hurts that I had caused to myself and others. I somehow felt that I didn’t measure up. I went through the list and said to God, “You forgive me, Father, and I forgive myself.”

I expressed how I felt, and God listened.

Write down all the areas in your life that you want to be forgiven for. After writing them down, cross each one out and write, “God forgives me, and I forgive myself.”

“Father I thank you that your word says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Because You have forgiven me so much, I choose to forgive myself for all the pain that I have caused to myself and others. I will no longer hold these sins as debts in my life. Thank You for your forgiveness.

In Jesus name. Amen.