“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31).
There’re folks who say, “So-and-so hurt me so bad, though I’ve forgiven him, I’ll never forget what he did to me.” As a child of God, you should act like your heavenly Father, who never recalls offences. Unforgiveness, malice and bitterness will take the shine out of your life. If you want the beauty of God to be seen in your life, then you must be quick to forgive others their wrongs! Refuse to harbour malice or bitterness against any one.
In 1 Corinthians 14:20, the Bible says “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” Babies don’t know how to be bitter or keep malice. They’re too innocent for that; they don’t have enough sense to regard or recognize any wrong done to them. Such childlike attitude that is quick to forgive is what the Spirit of God is telling you to emulate. Don’t regard the wrongs done to you by others. Be quick to forgive, for love forgives and forgets.
One of the dangerous consequences of unforgiveness in the lives of those who harbour it is that it short-circuits the power of God in their lives, making them unable to function with the Spirit. It reminds me of what happened to the Prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 3, when the Kings of Israel, Judah and Edom came to inquire of the Lord from him. The prophet spoke out in anger to the King of Israel: “…As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee” (2 Kings 3:14). He then had to call for a minstrel—a musician to play so the anointing could come on him (2 Kings 3:15-16).
Elisha was so angry and bitter against the King of Israel that he couldn’t hear what the Spirit was saying. Don’t open the door to satan in your life through anger, bitterness or malice; put them away completely. If you’ve held anything against anyone, it’s time to sincerely forgive them and show them the love of the Father.
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for filling my heart with your love, kindness and compassion. I choose to forgive all those who may have wronged me; I overlook their shortcomings and choose to love them as you have loved me. Today, I function by the principle of love, where I bear no records of the wrongs done to me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Further Study:
Mark 11:25-26
Luke 17:3-4
(Taken by permission from Christ Embassy Church , aka Believer’s LoveWorld Ministries , Lagos, Nigeria. www.ChristEmbassy.org )
