The burden of unforgiveness

Mark 11:22-25  (NLT)

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. ”

In my walk with God over the past few months, He has taken me on a step by step process of growth and unlocking various  obstacles that stood in my path of achieving my full potential as His child.

It accelerated recently when He opened my eyes to the power of covenants, and the uplifting or devastating effects of the blessings or curses that follow their fulfilment or breach.

I am learning that man is a very powerful creature indeed. He was created to replicate the authority of the Most High on earth. To reign as a King over nature, and spiritual elements.

When we become children of God through our acceptance of Christ, this power is restored to us. Our acceptance of the status quo as Christians means that we are robbing ourselves of the ability to function as we were created to do.

Jesus Christ came to earth to save us. He did this on several levels. The most talked about today is how He saved us from sin and death. However, little talked about is his demonstration to us of how we were created to live and function as children of God.

Jesus performed a lot of miracles. He conquered Satan. More importantly, he gave us authority. The same authority that has been given to Him. This means that on this earth, we are as powerful as Jesus was while He was here on earth!

Over the weeks, the Holy Spirit had been drawing me to the topic of forgiveness. Several times in different media, through the mouth of several people, I was being drawn to forgive anyone who had wronged me.

The problem was that I had no such recollection. I didn't have anyone in mind who had offended me. But you see, we can never see as deep into our souls as our maker can. And so this passage cropped up 3 days ago.

Jesus demonstrated his authority to his disciples by cursing a fig tree. When his disciples noticed the following day that it had truly died, they were amazed and brought it to His attention.

What caught my attention from his reply above was his sole admonition to forgive. This was God speaking directly to me that one of the most powerful inhibitors of my ability to function optimally as a child of God on this earth is lack of forgiveness.

I began to think of who I could be bearing a grudge against to the extent that I couldn't even remember it. All roads led to my wife. My significant other. My flesh and bone.

I went over to her and began to explain what the Holy Spirit had told me. I began to unearth the deeply buried misgivings I had submerged over the years thinking they were best entombed. I asked for forgiveness, and I also forgave.

I was surprised at the depth of angst that existed between us. That night we talked and talked. I realized that we had become so alienated to each other that the solidarity and camaraderie we exhibited, even on the matrimonial bed, was merely a mask covering a deep sore.

It's my prayer that we both heal and grow stronger in love for each other under the covering of God's eternal love.

My point is that such an injury could never allow any of us to function effectively to our full potential as God's children. Grudges, anger and unforgiveness rob us of our power to reign as kings as we were created to do. This is what Jesus was telling his disciples. We must forgive all who have wronged us in order to open the door of the Father's forgiveness into our lives.

Only then can we fully reign as physical and supernatural beings that we truly are.