Forgive With Finality

Rodney Howard Browne shows us God's beauty in snow

If you consistently struggle to pardon folk who have wronged you, you will consider yourself incapable of that sort of forgiveness. Many of us are convinced that forgiveness is just a feeling that may be experienced in the face of conflict. What a poor understanding! True forgiveness isn’t a feeling, but an action.

If you find it difficult to pardon other people, take an active role in the midst by following these suggestions: recognize and confess an unforgiving spirit. No, it isn’t always straightforward to pardon somebody. We are occasionally the targets of enormously harmful offenses. However, we aren’t in charge of folk’s behavior; we are responsible for our own.

God commanded us to be loving, forgiving folks. If we are unforgiving, that is our problem and nobody else’s – we must repent of this sin and ask God to help our unforgiveness. Release the other person.

Make a conscious decision to release the offender in your mind. When you end up reliving the small print of the annoying behavior, force yourself to stop. Pardon the offender forgetfully. When you keep the details fresh in your mind, you trap yourself in a cycle of pain.

Select instead to split the individual from the distressing memory. Pardon with finality. True forgiveness is complete. This implies that you can’t “forgive” somebody and then continually bring the topic up. Pardon them and go on. If you’ve been nursing a grudge against a particular person, ask God for the will to pardon. Then, do it!