How Do I Forgive?: Letting God Do What We Cannot

Whether you grew up in church or not, it is common knowledge that forgiveness is healthy. Even atheists understand this concept. For the Christ-follower, we definitely know we are commanded to forgive our enemies-seventy times seven [490x] or seventy-seven times. Either way, it is a lot of forgiving! Nevertheless, the most devout Christ-followers often struggle with forgiveness beyond the surface. I grew up in church. Forgiveness was commonly taught. I wanted to forgive, and it came readily to me. However, when my first marriage fell apart, and horrible things were done to me, forgiveness became an impossible task. Intellectually, I knew to forgive. I wanted to forgive, but it eluded me. No matter how many times I prayed, "Lord, help me forgive him," it didn't take. When I finally thought I had succeeded, I ranted about how despicable he was as soon as his name was mentioned. Clearly, my verbal forgiveness statement was inactive. What was I to do? How could I forgive such heinous acts against me? Obviously, willing myself to forgive him was ineffective. Feeling like I should do it was inconsequential. Thinking it would be the correct action didn't help me. What Christ-followers often miss is how to function in the supernatural of God. Many remain soulish instead of arising to the spiritual led by God's Spirit. Man's soul is comprised of the mind, will, and emotions. The mind consists of our intellect, memories, and imagination. My soul [mind, will, and emotions] was ill-equipped to execute forgiveness for the evil thrust against me, no matter how hard I tried. One of my staple sayings is, "There is no trying. There is only doing." We can try until the cows come home, but we will fail unless we allow God's supernatural forgiveness to flow through us. This little book intends to bring the body of Christ into higher thinking, as commanded, so we will stop trying in our natural condition to do what can only manifest supernaturally through God's Spirit living within the believer.