As followers of Christ, I believe it's fair to say that most of us know the importance of forgiveness. We are told many times in scripture to forgive our brother whenever he has sinned against us. And that when we stand praying that we are to forgive those who have trespassed against us. God tells us to do so because bitterness is one of the major blocks to healing and spiritual growth in a believer's life.

   But what do we do when that person's sin feels unforgivable?

   When it wounds us down to the deepest parts of our soul, and causes us great heartbreak? Dear friend, we understand. We have been there too.

    But not only have we been there, Jesus has been there.

   Nailed to a cross by the people He loved and came to save, betrayed by His own followers, made a public display for all to see. Can you imagine that kind of pain? Then, choosing to take on the sins of the world, the sins of the people who were currently abusing and mocking Him...truly it sounds like Jesus had every right to withhold forgiveness and accuse those around Him as he was dying.

   And yet...Jesus modeled something for us on that cross. In the midst of His suffering, instead of accusing them, cursing them, and shaming them...He asked The Father to forgive them.

   It defys every ounce of our human flesh to forgive the very people who abuse you. Jesus had the opportunity throughout His torture and death to deny the calling of forgiveness and grace. But in doing so He would have forsaken the agreement Him and The Father made to save us from our sins and reconcile us back to the heart of God.

   So instead of choosing to give into His flesh, He chose to give Himself up as a sacrifice and asked His Father to forgive them. Forgive us.

   So, when we have a person, and the moment we think of them or see them and all we can see is their sin, which feels unforgivable...how do we go about honoring God's commandment to forgive?

   We must understand that when we forgive, it isn't based off of how forgivable the sin is, but on our Lord's forgiving nature.

   Jesus didn't ask us to forgive, and then He himself not forgive those who hurt and abused him. We must stop looking at people's sin and judging whether or not its worthy to forgive based off a meter we have in our minds, but on God's nature and love.

   The Spirit of bitterness causes someone to cling to another's offense in rebellion against God. It says, "What this person has done is unforgivable and I can't let it go", and by ourselves...we can't. Which is why we need to rely on God's word and take authority over the spirit of Bitterness in Jesus' name. So today, we will close this blog post with a deliverance prayer you can pray in order to take authority over the spirit of Bitterness and take steps to freedom.