Day 19 – Unforgiving

“He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends.” Proverbs 17:9

Where there is unity, God commands His blessing, but a divided kingdom cannot stand. When others sin against us, the forgiveness we are called to give is not a way of saying what they did is okay, it is however a weapon that cuts the chains off of us – chains of resentment and bitterness which entangle us and keep us from the fullness of God’s peace and joy and our destinies. As the quote goes – not forgiving is like wanting to poison another by drinking the poison yourself – it does nothing to another except ourselves and it makes us withdraw and become isolated and this is dangerous ground. A healed and forgiving heart does not accept or justify wrongdoing, but it understands the workings of the Kingdom principles and will do whatever it takes to achieve those goals, knowing the rewards are far greater than the trouble it took to come to forgiveness.

Prayer: How can we, Lord, staying under the mantle of Your forgiveness, not forgive each other? How can we stand by and be the ones who allow the division to be orchestrated by the evil one? Teach us to be goal-orientated, Lord, understanding that forgiveness is no powerless command, but a weapon that destroys the destructing weapons of the enemy, both to us and to Your Bride. May You find us determined to forgive, Lord, because we understand the great consequences that flow from it. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

Written by Anna-Mart Nel for www.womenoftheword.co.za