Forgiveness – Yet Again!
by Angela Weir
As I listened to the lady’s testimony, I realised yet again, the importance of allowing Jesus to tell us the truth about ourselves. She had had a traumatic upbringing and had spoken out forgiveness of her parents, particularly her mother, on many occasions, but on the previous evening during the prayer ministry time, had been shedding deep, painful tears as Jesus revealed to her that she was still holding some hidden resentment and bitterness in her heart. As He revealed the truth to her, she forgave both her parents again and the bitter chain was broken. Her testimony was that she felt truly free inside for the first time in her life.
By total contrast, I was with a different lady recently who refused to deal with the unforgiveness in her life. She too, had had a painful childhood but she wasn’t prepared to face the pain and release those who had hurt her. Yet she wanted to be free of her problems. Her lack of forgiveness prevented healing prayer ministry from taking place.
Jesus speaks of forgiveness on so many occasions (for instance Matthew 6:14-15 and Matthew 18:21–35), knowing that it’s a strong link in the chain that binds us and holds us in darkness. He came to bring us abundant life (John 10:10), but we have our part to play.
That freedom doesn’t come automatically when we become Christians, although the potential for freedom comes then. We have to do our part and deal with our sins through confession and repentance, and, because Jesus commands us to forgive, we also have to deal with unforgiveness. Like the first lady, it may mean forgiving many times, until all the bitterness, anger and hatred is completely gone, and only Jesus can reveal if there’s any still there, because He knows the truth in our hearts. It’s painful to come under His really close scrutiny, but when we do, He’ll set us free.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, painful as it is, please will You reveal the truth to me, the truth hidden in my heart. I want to be free, but know that only You can do this, so please show me if there is any wicked way in me that I need to deal with. Thank You, Lord, Amen.
Angela Weir has been associated with Ellel Ministries from the very beginning, first as an associate member of the ministry team and later as an associate teacher. She trained as an actress before moving to Cumbria, where she taught drama in a girls’ school. She now teaches and ministers at various Ellel Centres.
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