You Can’t Get God’s Dream with a Grudge
By Rick Warren
“One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, well-nourished in body, bones rich with marrow. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good.” Job 21:23-25 (NIV)
You may have big dreams for your family, your career, and your community. But none of those dreams even come close to the dream God has for you.
The Bible tells us, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 GW).
You can’t walk into the dreams God has for you unless you learn to walk out of the prison of unforgiveness. You can’t walk into those opportunities carrying a grudge.
Why should you forgive people that have hurt you?
Because God has forgiven you.
You will never need to forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you. When you come to faith in Christ, you don’t just get your sins forgiven. God completely wipes them out! There’s no record of them anywhere.
Romans 8:1-2 says, “There is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death” (TLB). When you don’t forgive people in your life, you start a vicious circle. That cycle won’t end until you forgive the people who have hurt you.
Forgive, because resentment will make you miserable.
Refusing to forgive someone doesn’t hurt the other person. It hurts you. Resentment makes you miserable. Holding on to a hurt is like drinking poison and hoping it kills the person you hate. You may be hanging on to pain caused by people who can no longer hurt you. They can’t hurt you unless you let them!
The Bible says, “One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, well-nourished in body, bones rich with marrow. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good” (Job 21:23-25 NIV).
You can either be happy or hold on to hurt and grow bitter. The choice is yours.
Forgive, because you’ll need forgiveness in the future.
You will never stop making mistakes, because you are human. You’ll need to be forgiven in the future, so you need to forgive others. Jesus taught, “If you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures” (Matthew 6:15 GW).
You cannot receive what you are unwilling to give.
Today is the day to start forgiving so you can heal and move forward into God’s dream for your life.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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