Daily Devo

Our story, His Glory

By: John Carrigan

Friday, September 13, 2024

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Recently, Pastor Dave Folkerts shared a powerful weekend teaching on forgiveness at the Melbourne campus. His wife Barb also shared her testimony about forgiveness as an adjunct to the sermon. If you didn't get to see it, (or maybe you just want to see it again) you can watch it online here:

https://www.calvaryccm.com/melbourne/teachings/sermon/3593/freedom-in-forgiveness

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36). This famous verse is trying to remind us that the power of Jesus completely freed us, and His death released every chain that binds us. But after we're free, many of us pick one of those chains back up and re-bind ourselves with unforgiveness. If we have unforgiveness, we've probably built-up reasons for it in our hearts and minds. Usually, we've "reasoned" that the people who’ve hurt us don’t deserve to be let off the hook. It's sad, but in reality, the prison we've put them in (in our minds) is actually holding us captive, not them! Someone once said; "Unforgiveness is like swallowing poison, but hoping it hurts someone else." God's Word says the only antidote for the poison of unforgiveness is Jesus!

It’s never easy, but the cure is simple. To heal, we must "let it go and let God work!" Forgiveness should happen quickly, but if we've held it too long, letting it go is more like a process. That weekend sermon caused me to contemplate forgiveness... as I did, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a hurt I had been holding on to for more than fifty years. I thought I had peace about it (and thought I'd forgiven them), but something still remained. I asked God to take it from me, and I laid it at the feet of Jesus.

And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Hebrews 13:12

The older I get, the more I realize how much I've been forgiven by God. How can I(we) justify holding onto unforgiveness when Jesus already paid the price for it? If the enemy ever tries to bring any negative memories back to the surface, a tool I learned in that weekend sermon was to keep repeating this statement; “That’s already been forgiven, and it's under the blood of Jesus”.

Are you holding on to any unforgiveness? If you are, give it to God and ask Him to use your story for His glory!