Find Release through Forgiveness
By Jessica Van Roekel
“If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”- 1John 1:9,ESV
Have you ever counted the cost of holding onto a grudge? Bitterness and resentment are deadly. I know because I've allowed these two rascals to cause much mischief in my life. Bitterness becomes a mason and builds thick walls between me and another person. This wall pretends to protect my heart, but in reality, it prevents new relationships with other people to form. Pretty soon, I'm trapped.
Resentment becomes a general who unfurls his battle plan with elaborate ways to attack and conquer. This plan ends with more hurt because anger makes me impossible to be around, which leads to more isolation. Bitterness and resentment work together to divide us from the people around us and prevent us from coming to God for the help we need. I'll never forget when my friend kicked me out of her life and the pain it brought. It also brought a whole host of other emotions like anger and revenge. Bitterness and resentment played on these feelings like two impish rascals who found a new playground. The more they played, the more I struggled. Not only did I need to forgive my friend, but now I needed forgiveness for my heart's attitude toward her.
Confession is one of those steps which takes a great deal of courage. We can get so caught up in our determination to justify our angry feelings we lose sight of God's way of responding to offenses. All we see is our hurt and our right to our hurt. The wound in our heart festers as we pour thoughts of revenge and bitterness into it. Not only must we deal with the hurt from the relationship, but we must also deal with the infection these responses create. These infect us by blinding us to what is real and true about walking with God. God's feelings about forgiveness were spectacularly demonstrated through Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. Jesus taught the importance of forgiveness by teaching the disciples how to pray with The Lord's Prayer. Jesus gave this prayer to the disciples and us as a daily prayer, not an occasional prayer.
The Psalmists write of forgiveness, and, most notably, Psalm 51 shares the confession and reconciliation of David to God. David, the man after God's own heart, sinned against God and his ways. He couldn't see it and God sent Samuel to open his eyes. The result led him out of darkness and into the light. His confession brought freedom. It is a heart that stays tender toward the Lord, including his correction, that makes a person known as a man or woman after God's heart.
In our lives, God can use people, sermons, devotions, music, or the Word of God to show us the status of our hearts. Each of us is responsible for acknowledging whatever heart position God reveals to us, which is the type of confession in 1 John 1:9. When we confess, God grants us a complete and perfect cleansing. Our heart wound, which we infected with bitterness and resentment, can finally begin to heal. We can be comforted to know God's forgiveness is absolutely assured. We can count on God to be faithful to his promises. He holds our hearts, infected with the petty responses of bitterness and resentment, with gentle hands. He turns our hearts toward him, and because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, he forgives and cleans us.
Intersecting faith and life:
Sometimes our wounds are so great, and we don't think we can forgive, so bitterness and resentment play hard in our hearts. Forgiveness is the release we need to kick these unwanted rascals out of our lives. God enables us to do the impossible. He helps us forgive. He guides our hearts to his, where we find the relief we long for. He helps us take a diligent stand against letting those twin rascals back in our hearts. With God, you can stand alert and strong against the temptation to entertain bitterness and resentment. God's forgiveness leads the way back to wholeness and healing.
Further Reading:
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