How To Forgive?

[PGS28]

Kirenisa I agree that time is also a powerful tool, thanks!  I certainly don't want to be one of those people that's still upset with a person about something petty that they did 10 years ago.

626AT99 I agree that prayer is a powerful tool, thanks a lot!

sherryinutah  Your post is so very helpful!!!

lgemini and mgint I agree whole heartedly!

jenniferhoder I definitely understand that

[gaylasue]

I've learned through the years to lay all my burdens upon the Lord.  Prayer helps ease hurt feelings by turning those feelings over to the Lord.  If we aren't able to forgive others for the trespasses they do against us, how can we expect the Lord to forgive us for our trespasses especially considering what He did for us?

[PGS28]

touche'

[InfuseMe1]

the way I understand it, is that you only need forgive those who seek forgiveness from you for wrongs done to you, and they must repent and have a change of heart too, as for murders and rapists, there is no forgiveness on earth for that... they must be sent home to be judged at once....  guess we'll all see someday....   

[nannycoe1]

I held a grudge against someone for years until I almost let it destroy me. You have to forgive, but never forget. I learned it was hurting me a lot more than it was hurting them.

[PGS28]

I don't know about this....

the way I understand it, is that you only need forgive those who seek forgiveness from you for wrongs done to you, and they must repent and have a change of heart too, as for murders and rapists, there is no forgiveness on earth for that... they must be sent home to be judged at once....  guess we'll all see someday....   

[PGS28]

I agree!

I held a grudge against someone for years until I almost let it destroy me. You have to forgive, but never forget. I learned it was hurting me a lot more than it was hurting them.

[sanglee]

its sounds alot easier then to really do it, to these kinds of life problems there are no real answers

[countrygirl12]

Having an unforgiving heart can block your passage into heaven so I'm starting my spiritual journey with learning to forgive.  How do you do it?

Well for one thing, like you said, if I refuse to forgive people for things they do to me then God will not forgive me for things I do.  And besides that I am s l o w l y learning that harboring anger only hurts me.  I know a girl who I went to high school with and I saw her the other day (been 20 years) and she huffed and rolled her eyes and made it clear she still hates me.  I am thinking...do you even remember WHY you hate me?  I know we didn't get along...ever!  But still.  I just laughed and have told several people about it.  It's not hurting me.  It only hurts her.  It's the same with me.  People I don't like or harbor anger or hate against - it doesn't hurt them.  It only hurts me.  So why let them have that victory over me?

[lovekat]

to forgive you have to learn your worth, we are all wounded. We are all inadequate. On our best days, our self-esteem hovers somewhere between feeble and fragile. All it takes is disapproval—or perceived disapproval—to send us staggering. These attacks bother us because we forget who we really are.

[lovekat]

As believers, you and I are forgiven children of God. We have been lovingly adopted into his royal family as his sons and daughters. Our true worth comes from our relationship to him, not from our appearance, our performance or our net worth. When we remember that truth, criticism bounces off us like BBs ricocheting off a rhino. The trouble is that we forget.

[PGS28]

sanglee true, but at least wanting to forgive is a start

countrygirl12 it's the pettiest thing ever to hold a grudge from high school, that says a lot about her character.  Unfortunately, I've learned that not a lot of people mature beyond jr. high.  I'm 31 and I've had to delete quite a few classmates on FB for acting like teens.  Like you said, we don't have to be bffs, but as adults we should at least be able to be civil towards each other.

lovekat I love your comments! I feel empowered just reading them!

[jcalexis]

you ca not forgive like this. It is not easy. Always ask God the courage to forgive. It is a weakness in our soul. Only through prayers we can overcome this weakness.

[lguzman1]

Well I think of Jesus and how he died so that we can be saved. Part of his preaching was that we have to forgive and if you can't you don't deserve to enter the kingdom of heaven and hey I want to enter so I forgive. 

[PGS28]

Thank you.

you ca not forgive like this. It is not easy. Always ask God the courage to forgive. It is a weakness in our soul. Only through prayers we can overcome this weakness.