For us that have or have had hurt in our lives, we need to be set free. I have this looked at this more and more over the last 8 months. We carry baggage. We all do. Whether it's from our experiences, or the experience of others. We can get to a point in our lives where everything we see, we see through the hurt. We don't trust. We become skeptical. We look for conspiracy and motive often as an antagonist of a good heart. A friend, a colleague, a mentor, or your family, children, or spouse may say something completely innocently. But through our hurt / heartbreak, we see deception. I do realize that for some, the hurt is justified. Abuse is a tough time to deal with. Offense can be justified time and time again. Perhaps, rightfully so. However, we are talking about healing a broken heart.
Walking around bitter at those who've hurt you doesn't help you. Think about it this way. Quite possibly, the person who hurt you doesn't know that they have hurt you. All the while, you cling to the hurt. At times, when you see that person, they are oblivious to the damage done, and try to carry on as "normal". But you, the whole time, are breaking. That root of bitterness can be summed up in a quick analogy. It's like you drinking poison, and hoping someone else gets sick. That offense takes so much away from your happiness, you tend to be on the receiving side of the poison. Twice. Some situations seem to be deeper than a "He hurt my feelings" or "She doesn't respect me" tag. However, that doesn't change the fact that they might not realize the hurt that's the result of the situation.
This excess baggage, for some of us, can be our excuse. I know this doesn't apply to all situations, but we can wear it as a medal. Like it justifies our lives. Either way, I'm not here to judge.
I'm sure everyone reading this has someone or some situation on their mind where you can pinpoint an offense that bothered you or and offense that you didn't take the bait on. We need to make a conscious effort at relieving ourselves of these weights that we carry around. There is a way that we all can live life again. I know when I went through my "closet" that I've held on to, I was able to get to a point of openness and honesty with myself that I hadn't realized possible. After that, I could be open and honest with the ones that I was offended or hurt by. I personally think the 11th Commandment would have been, "Thou shalt not kid thyself". It causes us to chuckle, but carries some truth. We know what our "junk" is. We need to deal with it. If we don't, we can run around with this baggage for years or decades.
We must forgive. It's not a question. We need to speak it aloud to ourselves. We need to hear it. When we are able, we should forgive the offender if at all possible. The liberation for you to know that you are not being controlled by fear will bring new life! There are some rooted offenses that can only be broken by the power of the name of Jesus Christ. It's the truth! There are situations that I've been through or a part of in some way, shape, or form that could only be resolved with the love of Christ opening my heart.
Mend your broken heart.... Forgive!
