Post by Nicole Hall
When you are in the center of a storm, when you have been hurt or have been betrayed, forgiveness isn’t the first thing that comes to mind, but it should be. Forgiveness is a choice no matter how you feel. Today, I don’t feel like forgiving. I would rather ask, “Why was this done to me. Why was I disrespected? Why did you reject me? I want to know why after all that came to pass, I should forgive at all.” That’s what I want to ask but that’s based on how I feel today. Tomorrow I may feel different. I’m not sure. But what I am sure about is the infallible Word of God that keeps my head above water, keeps my feet planted on rock and keeps me seated in heavenly places.
There are days when the hurt and pain of the situations we endure will rise like a wave, and at its height, seem to be frozen in time and space, leaving you unable to move, think or blink. So why forgiveness now? The center of the storm is the place to surrender yourself to the Lord because He will provide you peace that surpasses your understanding. The enemy is always tugging at your wounds trying to flood your mind with thoughts of the past, what you could have done and how you should have handled it. The Bible says that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him, Isaiah 59:19 (KJV). You have to rebuke the enemy and replay the last thing that God said to you in order to make it through. Unless you surrender it all to the Lord, you will not be able to endure the pain, anger or other emotions that block you from considering forgiveness as an option. Jesus said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV). So what does that mean?
I had to go back to what I knew about the God that I claimed to serve. He was the same God that sent His only Son to carry the weight of humanity’s sin and die so that we might have life. I wanted to be forgiven for my own sins. My sin was no worse than anyone else’s, even the person who had betrayed me. Man puts a value on sin, but to God, sin is sin. God calls us to walk in love. I asked the Lord why He had me in this position of love-giving when I could barely move. I didn’t feel like forgiving that day. I had a difficult time understanding why after being so betrayed, I was supposed to show love.Colossians 3:12 (NLT) says “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” I realized that I serve a God who answers my questions right away when I search the scripture for His thoughts and who chose me for a task that no one else could handle. He loved me enough to know I would, in my humanity, say, “Yes God.”
At the time of the betrayal, I didn’t even have the words to express my state of being. But God stirs up the sea with his power and by His understanding He breaks up the storm, Job 26:12 (NKJV). I knew that meant I didn’t have to be in this state forever. I found that “walking in love” seemed to be the fast track to forgiveness. By no means am I saying that you will get over something and be free, healed and delivered quickly. It’s a process that God takes you through. What I am saying is that when you are obedient to God’s Word and understand His unconditional love for you, He will heal you and enable you to keep moving forward. Psalm 147:3 (NKJV) says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. “ Withhold nothing and forgive. God will turn it around.
