Meditations

Heart Guide for Lesson 15:
Freedom through Forgiving

A rotten root produces bad fruit. Do you have personal knowledge of a disease that began because something 'unforgivable' happened to someone you know or of a disease that ended when forgiveness was released? Let psychological illness (soul dis-ease) count as a disease.

It also helps to see the gravity of this error by the negative example that really bitter people give us as a warning. Seeing their wretchedness becomes part of our own motivation for doing the hard work of forgiving. Can you think of anyone whose life was tragically wrecked by their un-forgiveness. 'Negative' people are always bitter at heart. Pray extravagant grace down upon that person to help them get free.

Since we defeat the enemy by the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11), review a time when you did some forgiving in a hard place and how that set you free. Prepare to share this with someone to help them find freedom! But be watchful over how you share: if in telling about the event you dwell too long on what was done to you or cast the person who hurt you in a worse light than yourself, you may need to do more forgiving. Keep the focus always on your own sin of unforgiveness—don't use 'sharing' as an opportunity to get veiled revenge by slandering the person who hurt you.

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