“Many of us are being hindered from our destiny because we are being held hostage by a leash around our souls called unforgiveness. This leash keeps jerking us back and jerking us back.”- Dr. Tony Evans
Dr. Tony Evans begins Chapter 9 (“The Pardon of Detours”) of Detours as he notes that many of us still feel loaded down by past pain. As a result, that pain creates a roadblock to our destination. Specifically, unforgiveness hinders us from arriving at our destiny. Unforgiveness includes:
- holding on to past pain, hurts, and grudges
- the weightiness of regret, remorse, and revenge
- the one thing above all else blocking God’s movement in your life
For example, the issue of forgiveness comprised a critical component Joseph needed to deal with. Hence, Joseph learned how to accept the past in alignment with God’s providence. Yet, Joseph’s pain obviously remained.
Therefore, we must correctly define forgiveness. If we define forgiveness wrongly, we never truly experience its benefits. Consequently, forgiveness means choosing to delete the offense rather than base your action on how you feel at any given moment. Dr. Evans adds:
“True forgiveness is setting yourself free from the bitterness of wrath and anger. . . . It doesn’t mean you excuse it [the wrong] or even pretend like it didn’t happen. It also doesn’t mean you ignore it. . . . But what forgiveness does mean is that you make a decision to no longer relate to the person or people, or even yourself, based on the infraction.”
Today’s question: Do you relate to the phrase ‘leash around our souls’? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Forgiveness- a beautiful word?”
