FORGIVENESS A KEY TO A FULFILLED LIFE (Part 2)
SONG.
The blood of Jesus sets me free.
From sin and sorrow,
The blood of Jesus sets me free.
TEXT
"And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." (Genesis chapter 50 verses 18 to 20)
The word forgiveness means to cease to feel resentment against an offender. As I said in the previous message, when we forgive, we release someone else from the burden of their wrongs; we also release ourselves from unnecessary tension or stress. This in turn brings joy and healing to our spirits, souls and bodies.
In regards to the brothers of Joseph in the Book of Genesis chapter 50 verses 18 to 20, the Bible says,
"And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."
I want to say I believe Joseph had forgiven his brethren long before he became the Prime Minister of Egypt and also before they came to ask him for forgiveness. He possibly knew the consequences of unforgiveness. We need to learn from Joseph. If we are having problems forgiving others, we can ask God to help us because
unforgiveness can hinder so many things in our lives.
Not forgiving ourselves can also keep us prisoners to the past, to the wrong, and to the offender. It will never allow us to move forward into the freedom that God so desires for us.
Even hidden resentments, the negative feelings we think no one sees, or knows about, can weigh us down, trapping us in the very place we wish to be free from.
It's good we let go whatever wrong that has been done to us, just as Jesus forgave us all our offenses and bore all the hurt for us.
We all know what happened on the Cross. There, Christ forgave all that wronged Him. He whispered these words up to His Father, “Father, forgive them…”
His love towards us covers all our wrongs, all our sins, and all the barriers that blocked our way to God.
We must forgive one another, no matter the wrong. Like I said, where there is no forgiveness, so many things go out of place.
GOD keeps no record of wrongs. He loves without conditions, and He wants us to love in the same way.
Jesus forgave us all our offenses, without having a record of any. In the same vein and upon our asking, the Holy Spirit is able to help us also to forgive without having any record of wrongs.
PRAYER
Thank You Heavenly Father for healing all my griefs and pains and for helping me, by Your Spirit to forgive all who have wronged me, in Jesus' Mighty name.