Challenge: Forgive
 
Whenever God needs me to get a point, He will repeat it in my hearing multiple times from multiple sources and usually by this time, He’s tried telling me Himself, but I’ve not listened (yes, sometimes I’m hard headed).  By the second or third time, I usually get the memo and move forward in what He’s telling me.  Now, I need you to know that it’s not always like that with God and I. Most of the time, I do what He tells me the first time but when I am scared, nervous, or feel justified I can be a little stubborn. 
 
A few weeks ago, God dealt with me on a part I played in a very big misunderstanding. I was so upset that someone could treat me with such carelessness, but I did not want to acknowledge that I was also careless with how I was treating them.  I decided to pray for this person the way I prayed for so many others who offended me.  But this time was different because I had yet to acknowledge my part in the mess, so even though I was praying to forgive them, it was like my prayers were falling to the ground and dying.  In the entire month I was praying for them, it was like I still had this stronghold and it would not break. 

A week ago I was on Facebook and a T.D. Jakes video popped up on my timeline.  In the video, Bishop Jakes was talking about offense and he used the scripture Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. ~ Ephesians 4:26-27.  I listened and liked the post but never thought it was for me.  A week later I was watching another message by another preacher and he used the exact same scripture talking about offense and I knew God was speaking but I didn’t move because I was stubborn and felt that their offense to me was worse than mine to them - it was a standoff (or so I thought).
 
The next day I was walking in my house and it was like a light bulb went off in my head.   I knew some of the very things I was asking God to fix and change for me were being held up because I was still holding an offense to this person.  It was like God was giving me yet another chance to get it right, so I emailed the person and sincerely apologized for my part in our misunderstanding.  The beauty of it is that once I apologized I was free from the burden of anger towards that person and I knew immediately that the prayers I prayed before were going to be answered now because my heart was clear of offense.  They did not have to ever read or respond to the email, but because I was sincere in my apology, the anger I felt was gone.  But even more significant was that my relationship with God was mended in that moment.  While I was angry and holding onto this anger, I felt a strain in my relationship with God and I did not like it.  I was trying to find out what was going on and all the while, it was because I had this anger in my heart towards someone I was supposed to forgive. Once I let that go, I was free in my relationship with my Heavenly Father again and for me that’s the most important relationship I will ever have so nothing can stand in the way of that.
 
The moral of the story is we must not hold onto offense and we must forgive.  I know that forgiving someone can be the hardest thing one can do, but I also know the benefits.  Up until this issue, I thought I was doing well with not holding onto offenses and forgiving, but I realized quickly that I still had room to grow and mature.  If you are holding onto something, make a choice to sincerely forgive today and if you’ve hurt someone make a choice today to sincerely apologize because holding onto that stuff will only cause you harm in the long run.  Let it go and hold no offense.
 
Blessings,
Liela

​Sometimes you must trust God through the tears.  Trusting God when you don’t fully understand what He is doing and why He is allowing things to occur can be frustrating and fear invoking.  The word says in Isaiah 55:8, "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” While God is concerned about what’s happening for you in the moment, He’s also just as concerned with what is coming in your life, who you will affect, and so much more. 
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I told someone once that God is like an air traffic controller -- He sees you and all people around you – You land too soon and you may delay someone else.  You move too late and someone connected to you may miss their victory.  God knows exactly where you need to be and when you need to be there.  He knows when and why we need to be delayed (or leave sooner) and His timing is perfect. God’s timing is never “off” and He knows exactly what He is doing. 

I received a greater revelation of this just the other day.  While trying to leave for work my normal way, I was delayed by someone else’s timetable and I thought for certain I was going to be late and miss my connections.  The Lord spoke clearly to me and said “trust me,” and while I heard Him say that I was just annoyed and did not want to miss my connection.  I pressed through and did what He led me to do – go to a different station to pick up my connection – and when I arrived I was right on time.  The moral of the story is that sometimes you will be delayed getting where you need to go.  Sometimes you will find yourself wondering why you are late when you started out your journey early.  Know this, if you trust God’s timing even when it seems off, you will get to where you need to go right on time.

Love & Blessings,
​Liela

One of the lessons I have learned is that forgiveness is important to God and important to the process of getting to the next level.  The Word of God makes it very clear that forgiveness is important, in fact, Jesus said in the book of Matthew that “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).  So, forgiveness is a vital part of our process as believers in Jesus and Jesus makes it very clear that to be forgiven, we must also forgive.  Yet, I know firsthand how difficult forgiveness can be, especially when the people you should forgive have been trusted with your heart or your finances or even your children.  It can also be especially difficult to forgive someone who is not apologetic about their behavior because in their minds they have done nothing wrong. 
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I have heard so many people say that forgiveness is not about the person you need to forgive, it’s about you and they are correct.  In the scripture verse above Jesus never said that you need to forgive them to their face or tell them that you forgive them.  He did not say that you need to wait until they apologize or until they recognize their wrong.  He said to forgive and you will be forgiven, so it is not about the person who hurt you, it is about you.  Forgiveness is about you being free of the sting of what happened; it is about you being available in your heart, mind, and spirit to really enjoy the freedom Christ brought for you when He died on the cross.  Forgiveness releases you from the bondage of what they did to you.  Forgiveness not only allows you to release them, but it also releases you from the pain of what they did.  It allows you to walk away clear, knowing that you have done what you needed to do. 

I know that it can be painful to think about what someone else has done to you and it can be hard to let that go.  It’s easier to hold onto something and to seemingly hold your pain over someone else’s head but it’s causing you harm, blocking your prayers, and hindering you from the greater God wants to do in your life.  I know this because a few years ago, God began to deal with me on this very subject.  People I allowed in my life took advantage of me in so many ways, they’d taken my gifts, my love, and more and that hurt me, but for me to move on with my life in freedom, I needed to forgive them.  So, for a few months I read through and prayed through a book called O Lord, Forgive Them: 30 Days of Praying for Your Enemies by Zari Banks.  The book is designed as a 30-day devotional, but my first time reading through it, it took me nearly double the time because as I prayed through the book the Lord dealt with me on how I allowed the hurt inflicted on me by others to stop me from pursuing my dreams.  He dealt with me on the hurt I had for people living and dead and how I did not want to forgive them because I wanted something to be angry about and I wanted to have something to hold over those who had hurt me.  I felt justified in my unforgiveness because they did not deserve it, but then the Lord said to me, “but do you deserve forgiveness?”  That cut like a knife deep in my heart because the truth is I did not deserve forgiveness, it is only be His mercy and death on the cross that I am even allowed to be forgiven.  So, every day I battled through and prayed for those who hurt me and by the end of it, I was in a much better place.  I was no longer holding onto past hurts and infractions done to me and I was finally free of the pain and sting of unforgiveness.  I could see how the unforgiveness I held onto affected my relationships because I held back based on the hurt places I had been in, but now I was free and did not have to change who I was because I was afraid of being hurt again.  My walk through forgiveness had not only allowed me to forgive those who hurt me, but it allowed God to heal me completely so that I could be free to be me.

Today, I implore you that if you are reading this and know that you have some people you need to forgive, don’t wait. Get your freedom today and forgive them, your life will be so much better for it.
 
Love, Peace & Prayers for YOU!
Liela