Extending Forgiveness for Healing

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    Extending Forgiveness

    Healing is three steps away:

    1. Make a Decision;2. Understand & Apply Forgiveness

    3. Healing Prayer

    1. First of all, make a decision:

    Chose to separate yourself from your past.Chose to resolve it through forgiveness.

    1Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as achild, I thought a child: but when I become a man, I put away childish things.

    There is no chance to build the future unless you let the past go. However, inorder to be able to let the past go you need to resolve all the emotional tensionsthat keeps you emotionally connected to your past. There is a very powerful andvery simple principle regarding healing of broken memories: Emotions get healed by

    verbalizing them. (best to do this with a counselor or pastor not to all yourfriends in the form of gossip) Because those emotions are painful and continue tohurt, people are reticent in talking about the event that produced those emotions.They try as much as possible to avoid any discussion about them. Without knowingthat this is their only chance for healing. This is the only medicine. If theywould start talking about them yes, they would suffer for a little while (weeks)but afterwards they will no longer suffer. The saying: time resolves everythingis not truth at all about broken memories. So why would you allow your past tocontrol your present and to determine your future. Why would you live continuouslyunder the pressure of negative feelings? A person who is negatively polarized issubject to all kind of diseases starting with cancer, for their immune system isdepressed by bad feelings. On the other hand your effort to isolate that painfulexperience and to not allow it to come to the surface any more may be successful

    sometimes; but that is actually the moment when you have crossed the line towardanother stage of your emotional disease - bipolar disorder. Would you want that tohappen?

    A better option is to just make the decision to deal with your pain and youremotions.

    The healing process is easy to understand and does not require too much time.

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    2. Second, I will Understand Forgiveness and I will Apply it:There are several myths about forgiveness among Christians which need to beresolved before you will commit yourself to accept and offer forgiveness.

    Let see what forgiveness is all about?

    Just because you have made the decision to forgive dont expect toforget. Between the moment of decision to forgive and the moment when you feelwith your heart that you have forgiven indeed takes a while. Memories are keptalive by feelings. As long as they exist the memory of the incident will remainvivid in your mind. However if you did not forget the event yet doesnt mean youhave not forgiven yet. To forgive is a decision of the mind; feelings will followthis decision in their own time.

    Because you have chosen to forgive, does not release the offender fromresponsibility. In the Bible there are two different laws apparently contradictoryeach other:

    First is the requirement to forgive your neighbor 70 X 7 times a day if theycontinue to offend you.

    Second is the requirement: tooth for tooth and eye for eye. Keep in mind that thefirst requirement is for interpersonal relationship and the second requirement isa rule for judges telling them how to judge offences.

    So if you have been injured by someone then is your duty to forgive that personand the duty of the judge to punish that offence according to the law of justicetooth for tooth

    Just because you have forgiven, does not mean you should put yourself

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    in the situation in which you may be re-injured. As far possible stay away fromyour offender. If that is physically impossible then stop keeping the book afteryou have forgiven and continue to fight to stop that hurtful behavior in a gentlemanner.

    Just because you have forgiven do not pretend that the injury neverhappened. It may seem polite to do so but is not healthy for the offender or foryou. Let the offender know you have suffered a lot as a result of his action andthat you have made the decision to forgive.

    You did not forgive because their injury did not matter. So stop sayingthat. You forgive because it is in your best interest. To forgive is a selfishdecision. You forgive because you want to remain healthy emotionally andphysically, and because you want to make it to heaven. It has nothing to do withthe offender's behavior in the past, or the present, or the future.

    Once you have forgiven, it releases any desire for revenge, gettingeven, or punishing. If you do not release both these desires you replace anegative feeling (unforgiveness) with another one (revenge). Both are equallyharmful.

    When you decide to forgive you have also decided with the consequencesof the offenders action. That does not exclude the possibility that a judge willmake sure justice is served for you if the offence is that serious and criminal.If thats the case accept it.

    You have been enabled to forgive as a result of the forgiveness that youreceive through and from Jesus. Consequently you have no merits when you forgive.Forgiveness is not a matter of merits but a matter of healing; healing of emotionsand healing of relationships.

    One of the reasons why you choose to forgive is also because yourecognize your own weaknesses and sinfulness.

    You make the decision to forgive independently of the action or

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    reaction of the offender. Is about You and your emotional and physical health andabout obeying Jesus. It has nothing to do with the offender. Do not expect theoffender to first come and apologize or confess his fault to you. You make thedecision to forgive right away because you are already injured by the offence andyou dont want to continue being injured by an unforgiving spirit. You decide tonot be reactive but proactive for your own best interests. There is nothing in theoffender's action which should stop you making this decision.

    Practical teachings about forgiveness

    Remember that once an injury has occurred you want to make your decision toforgive immediately. If you wait the negative feeling will start it's destructiveprocess against the well being of your heart and mind. The more you wait the morethese negative feelings will be amplified and it will be more and more difficultto forgive later on. I have learned to react to offenses by offering a blessing.It has become a custom for me now. Also note that you should not look at yourfeelings when you make your decision to forgive but make that decision in yourmind. There you will find a lot of arguments to do it. When you forgive you do sofor yourself; even God forgives for Himself: "I, even I, am He who blots out yourtransgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25God Himself recognizes the danger in not forgiving. An unforgiving spirit willaffect your well being. Just make the decision and forgive. You deserve it.

    3. Third I will Request and Practice the Healing Prayer

    1. Ask for assistance from a person really connected with God. You need someonewho is experienced with the Holy Spirits touch, to pray with you and for you.Laying hands on you will help.

    2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the wound needed to be healed. Wait forHis touch. Do not make any human effort here.

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    3. Face the truth about your offender. The Spirit of God is a spirit of truth.

    4. Express yourself with no restrictions before God. Grieve your loss beforethe Lord. Write letters to your offender, even if you never mail them a lot ofthem, if necessary.

    5. Pray to be immersed in the healing flood of the Holy Spirit. Here theministry of a Holy Spirit filled person is crucial

    6. Extend Forgiveness toward God and all offenders.

    7. Take Possession of the Victory of Jesus Sacrifice in your Life - Declareyour Freedom, your Healing and your righteousness in Christ.

    Cut your connection with your past.

    For more go to:

    www.relevantlifesolutions.org