Have you ever been so hurt that you felt it would be impossible for you to let go of the pain and the offence that your offender caused you? Many of us have experienced offences in our lives, and for many of us who have held on to the pain for quite a long time, we can all agree that the pain isn't helping us at all. Yet we keep holding on to it.
Dear reader, would you want to let go of an offence and the pain that it brought you, even when you find it hard to? Let me tell you how: Just let it go.
Letting It All Go
Some of you might be thinking, "Well, that's easy for you to say," and I truly understand you. As fallen men, we love to treasure ourselves: We love to hold on to that time before we were offended, to the imagined glory that we had before we were hurt. The thing is, this is what's holding you back from letting go of that pain and offence that you should have released a month ago. Or perhaps a decade ago.
"But I've been hurt so badly," you say. "I didn't deserve that pain," you explain. "I want to get back at my offender," you insist. My dear friend, don't. There's a better way to deal with it: Let God heal you.
Taking No Revenge
In Romans chapter 12, verses 19 and 21, the apostle Paul lovingly reminds us,
"Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to God's wrath, for it is written: 'Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,' says the Lord ... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Paul reminds us that God doesn't want us taking revenge on any person who offends us. God, our Father, wants us to be holy and growing in Christ's character – full of strength under control, full of God's power showed in love, and full of God's mercy showed through grace.
Don't worry about the pain that you feel. God knows it. Christ experienced all the pain that He did not deserve so that you won't have to receive the full wrath of God that you deserved for your sins. He received the punishment for our sins so that we could receive the love that God wanted us to receive.
And yes, after He rose from the grave He even raised you up with Him and seated you beside Him in the heavenly realm (see Ephesians 2:6).
With this love and mercy we receive, God wants us to extend love and mercy to our offender. He wants us to forgive and move on in our lives.
And when we move on from the offence towards God's purpose, we will see greater things that we have never seen before:
"Do not remember the former things nor consider the things of old. See, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not be aware of it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Let It Go
My dear friend, I don't know what offence was made against you, but I urge you to let it go unto God. He can heal you, give you more joy than you ever had, and can empower you to rise above the pain that you've encountered in your life.
