Daily Encouragement: Hooked

"Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.

Confront your neighbors directly so you will not be held guilty for their crimes.

Never seek revenge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord.

You must obey all my laws."
(Leviticus 19:17-19a)

People will always disappoint you, in one way or another. Many times we are the ones doing the disappointing. Men and women alike are imperfect and fail at all kinds of things--especially at obeying all of God's laws. This is why God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on a cross as the perfect, unblemished sacrifice--so we could receive true forgiveness. The Israelites that were under the law could only receive temporary forgiveness through animal sacrifice, and they had to continue to sacrifice to receive atonement for sin.

We, on the other hand, have received forgiveness through Christ's blood that was spilled at the cross, once and for all. And because we have been forgiven, we can....

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:31-32)

I'm not saying that forgiveness is always easy, but it IS possible. We need the help of the Holy Spirit in order to have a willing heart to even consider the possibility. Holding a grudge or seeking revenge ultimately only really hurts you--building up walls between yourself and that other person but also walls between you and God. When we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, we carry around a great burden, a heaviness that weighs us down, but when we give our hurts and disappointments over to God and ask Him to help us forgive, we put that person or group of people over on to God's hook instead of ours and we are free.

Forgiveness = Freedom!

Precious sister, I encourage you today to evaluate your relationships and your disappointments. Are you holding anything against a friend, a relative, or brother or sister in Christ? If so, "do business" with God today and release that person so you can truly find freedom in Christ.

by Wendie Beddingfield

picture by Danny de Bruyne