FORGIVENESS IS HARD

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." - Matthew 6:14

Have you ever noticed the presence of that little two-letter word in the Lord's prayer? It says "And forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Did you catch that? The word "as" implies that we cannot be forgiven until we offer that same forgiveness to others. In case we miss the "as," Jesus makes it very clear in the next verse: "But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:15)

Forgiving someone who has treated you poorly, said evil things about you, even broken up your family, is a very difficult thing to do. It takes Godly intervention to truly offer forgiveness to people who have deeply wounded you. But God commands us to do so, and God would never command us to do anything that He wouldn't provide the ability to do.

Right now, pray for God to give you the strength to forgive those who have hurt you. Not only will God give you the power to do so, but He will also empower you supernaturally to love them, even though you hate what they did. Remember, bitterness is the poison we swallow, hoping the other person dies. Enjoy the release of this terrible burden by experiencing the cleansing power of forgiveness.

Perhaps the following incredible real life stories can help us identify the power of forgiveness:

Story 1

When Rachelle Friedman's bachelorette party ended, she and her friends decided to go for a swim. Playfully, one of her friends pushed Rachelle in, not thinking about how shallow the water was at that end of the pool. Friedman's head struck the pool's bottom and she broke her neck, instantly paralyzing her from the collarbone down.

Since that fateful push, Friedman's life has changed drastically, but she was able to go ahead with her wedding plans and marry her fiancé a year later. And she forgave the friend who pushed her in. "I love her and have no grudge," The Daily Beast quoted from a Q&A session Rachelle had on Reddit. "I'm not saying it's right, but I've horseplayed by a pool and pushed people. I've pushed her. What happened was an accident."

Story 2

Scarlett Lewis' son, Jesse, was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the biggest school shooting in U.S. history. At first, she said, she felt like her anger sapped all her strength and energy. She was angry at the shooter and at the mother for unwittingly arming him. But she made a choice to forgive.

She told The Forgiveness Project, "Forgiveness felt like I was given a big pair of scissors to cut the tie and regain my personal power. It started with a choice and then became a process." She urged mourners at Jesse's funeral to change their angry thoughts into loving ones, that thereby they might change the world.

Story 3

It was a cold night in February 2007 when the car holding Chris Williams and his family was hit by a 17-year-old drunk driver. Immediately, Chris checked on his children in the back seat and quickly realized his 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter had died. Then as he watched, his pregnant wife sitting next to him exhaled for the last time. Meanwhile, Williams was in so much pain he could barely move his arm to turn off his car's engine.

However, before he had even been rescued from his car, Williams told the Deseret News he had this thought: "Whoever has done this to us, I forgive them. I don't care what the circumstances were; I forgive them." He proved as good as his word, going on to publicly forgive his family's killer and developing a relationship with him and his family. Today, Williams is a motivational speaker, sharing his incredible story of healing and forgiveness and inspiring others to extend mercy and forgiveness as well.