“Bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive.”
Colossians 3:13 (AMP)
“Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.”
Hebrews 12:14 (MSG)
Notice what harboring or hurt does to your spirit. It steals most of the joy from your life. It robs you of a great deal of peace. It buries your ability to be patient with others. It turns your kindness into something prejudiced and selective. It stains all that goodness in you. It has been said, “Unforgiveness wrapped your mind into thinking you are a self-controlled person, when in reality you are out of control. Keeping score just brings you more pain and causes a whole lot of pain for others.”
David Smith, in an article called Love Doesn’t Keep Score, “Such a spirit is fit only for a cross and a cross is precisely what God did with it. If anyone has a right to resent and not forgive, it is God. He is misunderstood, denied, misquoted, and defied, and has been since the fall. But how does God respond to all this abuse? He reconciles, rather than resents.”
2 Corinthians 5:19 (NLT) says, “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” When you step up and forgive someone who has offended you, even though you think they don’t deserve it, you are stepping into God’s grace and God’s grace is someplace that Satan cannot go.
Your prayer life might go something like this, “Lord, I don’t feel like forgiving but I know it’s the right thing to do, so please help me to have the faith and courage to do what is right and not rely on my feelings. In Jesus name Amen.”