THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS
Kay Keith Peebles 7/3/20 20.24
We have all had occasion to become offended in our lifetime. Some offenses have been very painful like abuse, whether verbal, physical or sexual. We’ve all experienced some form of betrayal by those we trusted. One cannot live among others and not be mistreated although it usually comes from unexpected sources which catch us by surprise. We have all been guilty of causing various degrees of offense at one time or another because we were born with a sin nature. The Bible affirms, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.
Our sin nature has created a dangerous predicament. We have not only become offended with others but we have also become the cause of offense toward others. Carrying our own sin and offense toward others only leads to the utter destruction of our soul unless we accept God’s remedy: Jesus!
There is no forgiveness of sins and offenses without the power of the Cross of Jesus! He came that we might be forgiven by God and lived to teach us to forgive others who have offended us. It is human nature to want to hold on to someone’s sin against us and meditate on the hurt and anger all our lives. That not only won’t help us, it poisons our soul. We think the other person has no right to our forgiveness for what they’ve done to us, but it’s not they who are destroyed by our response, it is us!
Scripture not only demands we forgive those who have hurt us, it provides powerful blessing upon the one who forgives others. Jesus forgave us of our sins so that we might be saved now and eternally. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to forgive. “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:11-12. He even taught a parable about the forgiveness of others debts (sins) in Matthew 18:21-35. If we do not practice forgiveness, our own sins will not be forgiven.
Let’s look at three men in the Bible who had the right to be deeply offended, but through the power of forgiveness, they became mightily blessed by God.
Jacob deceived his brother Esau out of his inheritance and blessing which by custom was due to the firstborn. Esau did voluntarily “sell” his inheritance to Jacob for a bowl of stew but Jacob deceived his father Isaac for the blessing that came with the inheritance. See Genesis 27:1-45.
“When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and extremely bitter cry and said to his father, ‘Bless me, even me also, O my father!’ Isaac said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.’ Esau replied, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob (the supplanter)? For he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’” Genesis 27:34-36.
“But Isaac replied to Esau, ‘Listen carefully: I have made Jacob your lord and master; I have given him all his brothers and relatives as servants; and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?’ Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.’ Then Esau raised his voice and wept. “Then Isaac his father answered and [prophesied and] said to him, ‘Your dwelling shall be away from the fertility of the earth and away from the dew of heaven above; but you shall live by your sword, and serve your brother; however it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred], that you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him].’” Genesis 27:37-40.
Then Rebekah sent Jacob away to find a wife among her brother Laban’s daughters. It was important to separate Esau from Jacob because Esau had vowed to kill Jacob. Rebekah said to Jacob, “So now, my son, listen and do what I say; go, escape to my brother Laban in Haran! Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s anger subsides. When your brother’s anger toward you subsides and he forgets what you did to him, then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I be deprived of you both in a single day?” Genesis 27:43-46.
Twenty years later Jacob left Laban’s household with his wives Rachael and Leah, and all his sons and daughters to return home a wealthy man. God blessed him for his work for Laban. During the process, Laban had betrayed Jacob of payment He promised over and over again including the marriage of Rachael after seven years. Jacob handled it in a godly way although it cost him dearly at the time. His obedience in suffering caused the Lord to bless him and his entire household.
Jacob was fearful of meeting Esau because when he left twenty years earlier, Esau’s hatred seethed with a vow to kill him. Jacob devised a plan to hide his family and send generous gifts of sheep, goats and cattle ahead to appease Esau. To his surprise, Esau was no longer mad at him and through his forgiveness of Jacob, the Lord blessed Esau mightily also. He was wealthy and had no need of Jacob’s gift.
“Then Jacob looked up, and saw Esau coming with four hundred men…Then Jacob crossed over ahead of them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he approached his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and hugged his neck and kissed him, and they wept [for joy]…Esau asked, ‘What do you mean by all this company which I have met?’ And he (Jacob) answered, ‘to find favor in the sight of my lord.’ But Esau said, ‘I have plenty, my brother, keep what you have for yourself.’ Genesis 33:1-11
The Lord mercifully brought both brothers into forgiveness; Jacob for his deceit and Esau for his loss. He restored to them what had been lost, including their relationship. Forgiveness through humility creates the power of blessing! It causes God to turn his face toward us, to shine upon us, and give us peace.
Job was another person in the Bible who forgave. Job was stricken with the death of all his children, his cattle and wealth and then was covered with horrible sores all over his body for months. Job’s three friends came to “comfort” him but instead blamed him for his condition. They accused him and condemned him for being in sin which did not console Job. In Job Chapters 41-42 Job received a revelation of God and repented to the Lord.
“…Therefore I have uttered that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, please and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I retract and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:3-5.
The Lord then rebuked Eliphaz and his two friends. He commanded him to give a burnt offering to God before Job, asking for forgiveness. He did so and Job prayed for their forgiveness and the Lord accepted his prayer. Then “The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:7-17.
Job needed friends who were on his side because devastation was all around him. His friends chose to accuse Job instead of console and encourage him. When Job complained to the Lord for his predicament, he discovered a new revelation about God. By forgiving his friends, Job was healed and God blessed Job giving him double what he had before.
Finally, the one with the greatest cause to be unforgiving was Joseph, Jacob’s 11th son. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him into slavery in Egypt. He was separated from his mother and father and entire family at the age of 17. He was a slave and imprisoned for 13 years but during that time the Lord showed Joseph favor with his captors. Pharaoh heard of Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams and called him to interpret two dreams he had. Joseph not only received the wisdom from God to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, he had to wisdom to tell Pharaoh what needed to be done to protect the people from starvation. Pharaoh put him in charge of everything in Egypt. He was second only to Pharaoh.
God had so richly blessed Joseph for his obedience during his trials, Joseph was able to forgive his brothers for the atrocity they committed against him. “Now two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget), for he said, ‘God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship and all [the sorrow of the loss of] my father’s household.’ He named the second [son] Ephraim (fruitfulness), for ‘God has caused me to be fruitful and very successful in the land of my suffering.’”
When Joseph’s brothers stood before him with his brother Benjamin, Joseph revealed who he was to his brothers. He knew they must be terrified at what he could do to them being in such a powerful position, but all he expressed to them was love and forgiveness. “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive? But his brothers were speechless, for they were stunned and dismayed by Joseph’s presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come closer to me.’ And they approached him. And he said, ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save life and preserve our family. God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth and keep you alive by a great escape. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Genesis45:3-8. See also Genesis 50:15-21.
When Joseph’s brothers came needing to buy food in Egypt, it was Joseph who was the one in charge of Pharaoh’s granaries. Joseph realized that his brothers did not destroy his dream God had given him, they precipitated its fulfillment! Joseph forgave his brothers, and supplied his father and brothers with life-giving grain; He did not withhold from them and he was reunited with his father Jacob. God not only blessed Joseph in Egypt, He brought his family there to live with him the rest of his life! His actions also paved the way for the entire nation of Israel to be formed while they remained in Egypt.
I believe the Lord is speaking to me that there are three major obstacles to being able to forgive others. 1) Pride: we have forgotten the pain our own sin has caused others and therefore we judge them unworthy of our forgiveness. 2) Unbelief: we do not trust God to make it right in our lives. We do not have the faith to believe He can fix the problems created by other’s sins and how they affect us. 3) Undeserving: we believe they don’t deserve to be forgiven for what they have done to us. In some cases, we believe they have destroyed our lives. Truthfully, we do not deserve to be forgiven either for our sins against others and especially those against the Lord Himself! But God gives us grace and we must also give grace to others.
My prayer is for all who harbor offense and un-forgiveness to be able to lay down their grievances toward others. Scripture affirms that we must forgive in order to be forgiven by God. We must forgive in order for God to be able to bless us. We must forgive in order to live in peace of mind, body and soul. Many illnesses are carried in our bodies because of the penalty of un-forgiveness!
How wonderful, how beautiful, and how glorious is the LOVE of God, Who has forgiven us all our sins and trespasses. Lord Jesus, may we be willing and enabled to lay down all our offenses toward others through the POWER of forgiveness.
