Many times life presents us with an immense amount of tantalizing and chaotic encounters. We may find ourselves in pursuit of the unattainable, disregarding the supernatural assistance we have access to via Jehovah Ezrah (“Lord, our help”). We are in dire need of repentance and restoration due to our innate sinful nature that separates us from the Creator.

Repentance is the act of forsaking and turning from the transgressions committed against the laws of The Most High God. 1 John 3:4 tells us that anyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. In the Bible, those who do not know Christ are called “workers of lawlessness”. Unbelievers are marked by lawlessness.

The Hebrew word pesha refers to ways that people violate the trust of others. Pesha describes the betrayal of a relationship. Since there are many kinds of relationships, a lot of different behaviors can be called pesha.

Repentance is nonnegotiable concerning aligning (or realigning) ourselves with and returning back to the fold of God. Restoration requires the hearing and belief of God’s word. Forsaking one’s sinful life is also of the utmost importance when seeking restoration. In Luke 13:1- 5, Jesus expounds on his lesson he had just taught. In Luke 12:57-59, Jesus told the crowd to reconcile with other people they have wronged. In Luke 13:5, he emphasizes his warning with urgency. He gives us a fair warning to reconcile with one another quickly. Death comes to everyone and sometimes that death is sudden and unfair. This serves as a testament to the importance of forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation with God NOW. We have a limited amount of time on earth, and we don’t know when it will end. Not everyone gets the chance to have a “deathbed conversion”. It is far better to take advantage of the time we have, confess our sins, accept Jesus as our Savior, and ensure we will live for eternity with the Creator.

Forgiveness may be defined as the act of no longer holding a guilty charge against one who has trespassed against you, pardoning/ canceling a debt, and releasing resentment or anger. Considering our prideful spirits, many times as believers we adopt the notion that forgiveness is optional, but it is not. In Matthew 6:15, Jesus explicitly states that those who refuse to forgive others will not be forgiven for their own sins by God. Take time to imagine how innately sinful we are as humans. We sin against our father daily, yet if we’re sincere in asking for his forgiveness, are not we fully confident that we will be forgiven instantly?

Our human nature does battle with the idea of forgiving those who have hurt us. Human beings can truly commit grossly indecent and flat out horrible acts against each other. Some atrocities are difficult to describe, or to think about, let alone forgiving someone who has done them. All the same, Jesus insists we understand how much God has forgiven us. The parable in Matthew 18:21-35 explains that we have all sinned against God, and by comparison, our sin against our Creator is far more than any person can sin against another.

As believers, we are constantly engaged in spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 6, Apostle Paul affirms that our battle is indeed spiritual, not physical. The enemies we face, ultimately, are not people or objects. The devil may use those as apart of his attacks, but our true opponent is not other people. Forgiveness is a choice. When we choose not to forgive, we have now given the enemy an open door to creep in and wreak havoc via our unforgiving spirit. Once he’s in, he’ll bombard our hearts and minds with spirits of bitterness, stubbornness ,pride,infirmities, and most commonly: stress. Won't stress kill us?! Yes! - John 10:10 reminds us that the enemy’s job is to kill, steal, and destroy. His job is to wear us out! Shall we allow the enemy to make a mess of our lives because we’re too prideful to forgive?

Since this is a battle, we must fight to forgive. Fighting is defined as taking part in a violent struggle by the use of weapons. Our weapons of defense are prayer, fasting, the blood of Jesus, and praise. Praise? Yes! Imagine the devil sending someone to betray you to gain access to your mind and your first response is praise? Yes it is easier said than done but even during a time of betrayal (when you are at your weakest), praise is necessary. Confuse the enemy. Make him mad. James told us to count it all joy when we encounter various trials. We must break our patterns of unforgiveness with obedience and praise. As believers,it’s not an option. Petition the help of Jesus Christ to replace our stony,stubborn hearts with hearts of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

Amid this battle,our greatest weapon of defense is the blood of Jesus Christ. It’ll behoove us to use his blood as if it were bleach. Ask the Lord to sanitize our minds,hearts, and bodies. Implore the Lord to sanitize the entire situation and make it as if it never happened. Can not the Creator of the universe make this so?

Many believers (and nonbelievers) have made it a custom to declare their forgiveness without forgetting the transgressions committed against them. If forgiveness means to completely let go of resentment, why then should we keep an account of the transgression if we’ve claimed forgiveness? Utterly preposterous! Imagine sincerely repenting of our various sins and being forgiven by God but still being reminded by him of the things we’ve done. Didn't the Lord declare in Hebrews 10:17 “their sins and iniquities will I remember no more”? Who,then, do we think we are to forgive but not forget?
The Bible also teaches us in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that unselfish love is the basis for true forgiveness since it keeps no record of wrongs.
Is forgiveness as easy as it seems? Absolutely not. If it is our goal to truly walk with the Lord, it is imperative to feast on his word, and his instructions for us. With the guidance of the greatest assistant we could ever ask for, The Holy Spirit, all things are possible and can be done so in a supernatural way if only we believe.

Forgiveness will never work if total restoration isn’t implemented. The biblical meaning of the word restoration is to receive back more than has been lost to the point where the final state is greater than the original condition. With the help of The Most High God, anything is possible if only we are willing to dismantle our stubborn and prideful hearts. Shall we continue to give the enemy an open door to wreak havoc in our lives and jeopardize seeing our Savior’s face in peace? God forbid.

If true forgiveness is something you wrestle with, please petition the help of our Lord and Savior. He is willing to aid you.

Grace and Peace.

-P. C

Are You Refusing to Forgive?