7 Life Decisions for Spiritual PowerSample

Forgive and do not seek revenge or retaliate

"Never repay evil for evil to anyone… Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God" (Romans 12:17,19; NASB2020).

Many people struggle with forgiveness, which can lead to spiritual weakness and powerlessness. Without forgiveness, we cannot grow spiritually. We will talk about spiritual matters, but our words will lack spiritual power and authority. We will speak, but it will not change the hearts of people. Our lives will be bound by anger, resentment, and a desire for revenge. We will increasingly defend our innocence and feel compelled to recount the injustices we suffered. Ultimately, others may begin to avoid us, weary of constantly hearing about our grievances.

It is important to address several forms of forgiveness.

The first type of forgiveness involves forgiving others for what they have done to us or perceived wrongdoings. We sometimes hear someone say, “I will forgive you, but I will not forget what you have done.” This often indicates that we have not completely forgiven the other person. We must never seek revenge. We must let go of our desire to settle the score. Justice belongs to God.

The second type of forgiveness is forgiving God. While this may sound unusual, we often attribute our disappointments to Him. For example, we might be tempted to accuse God of not keeping His promises in Scripture to be with us in times of need, or allowing the death of our child. It is crucial to get to a point where we surrender our lives more fully and express to God that we “forgive” Him for what He allowed in our lives. We must affirm our trust in His judgment, goodness, and sovereignty, paving the way for the restoration of trust.

The third type of forgiveness is forgiving ourselves. This aspect of forgiveness is one of the most challenging for Christians to deal with. We often hear someone say, “I cannot forgive myself for doing this or that.” Sometimes, the issue may be something small, but it can also involve situations where our words or actions have caused devastating trauma. For instance, a person might feel responsible for someone's death and experience overwhelming grief and guilt, leading them to believe that they cannot forgive themselves. It is important to forgive ourselves so that these feelings don't leave us weakened and destroyed. Many people find it helpful to have someone pray with them as they work through these incidents.