How to Forgive Yourself A Summer Series, Day 2

In order for you to be able to completely forgive yourself and others, you must first be forgiven of all your sins by Jesus Christ. How can you forgive yourself when you have never experienced true forgiveness from Jesus? He gave Himself up as a ransom for all our sins. That’s what the cross was all about. Redemption.

Only God can forgive you completely and set you free. When He does this for us, and we have obtained such incredible mercy and grace, that is when it becomes easier for us to forgive ourselves and others, and let the offense go. Why should you hang on to all that hurt towards yourself? I would rather have peace over punishment any day! If we have not forgiven ourselves, then we have not completely forgiven. If we don’t forgive ourselves, then guilt will always reside in our minds. It will never go away.

Forgiving yourself heals what is broken inside of you. When we forgive ourselves, we heal our soul, mind, and our emotions. We are letting ourselves off the hook. It’s like a free pass. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? But that is what is so amazing about Jesus Christ. He is too good to be true, but He is true! God created you in His image, and He loves you very much.

In Matthew 22:39 it says we are not to condemn our neighbor, and if we are not to condemn our neighbor, then we should not condemn ourselves. If I don’t forgive others, I forfeit the blessing of being forgiven. Why should God require me to accept His forgiveness and command me to forgive others but close my eyes as to whether I have forgiven myself? He doesn’t! This matter of forgiving ourselves is not an option in God’s plan for us: it is something we are required to do as obedient children of our Heavenly Father.

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew‬ ‭22:39‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Susan Bolinger - Bloom Ladies Ministry

Bloom - A Process to Achieve Complete Forgiveness