Forgiveness

We are still working with 2 Samuel 13, the story of Amnon, Tamar and Absalom; David’s children. Amnon committed an atrocity against his sister that enraged her brother Absalom. But I really believe enraged Absalom was not just Amnon’s rape of his sister. What angered him was the fact that David did nothing about it.

Yes, he was very angry but what did he do about it? Did David sympathize with Amnon given what he did to Uriah and Bathsheba? Did David do nothing because of the Word of the Lord he received saying the sword will never leave his house, therefore feeling as though he could do nothing to correct the matter? In either case, did David’s emotions prevent him from dealing with the situation in a way that could have brought some level of peace and resolve without the death of two of his sons?

How do you deal with situations that inspire guilt and shame from the past? Do you let that guilt and shame cause you to let circumstances have their way even though it is not what you really want? Have you ever looked at things and said, “Oh well, because I did this, didn’t go to school, wasn’t there when someone needed me or something else, this is just the way it is?

Jesus died not only for sin but the guilt and shame of the sin. Romans 8:1-2 indicates that you are free from condemnation of the past. But you must free yourself. If God in all His holiness can forgive you, then why would you hold yourself captive to something God has freed you from? You must forgive yourself so that you can go forward and achieve the destiny you were born to achieve. If the enemy can’t make you sin, he will try to keep you guild ridden over the past so that you’ll never move forward or even see what is happening around you today. Forgive, yourself and any others you are holding in bondage. If you are having a hard time forgiving others remember all that God forgave you for and is not holding against you now. It’s important to forgive, you can forget but based on the true information you learned about others make an informed decision about what your relationship needs to look like going forward.

You have a great and abundant life in front of you. Take hold of the future by first releasing the past. You deserve to be free and come into all that God purposed for you.