Let It Go Dr. Creflo A. Dollar

Do you remember the last time someone really hurt your feelings? How did you respond? Are you still harboring the pain they caused you? Maybe someone did something cruel to you when you were a child or recently did something to hurt you. It is always hard when people hurt or betray you, but God expects you to forgive. The word forgives means "to give up resentment or to pardon." Forgiveness is not allowing someone to hurt you again and again. Instead, it is a decision you make by faith.

It doesn't matter how badly someone may have hurt you. Jesus tells us that we should pray for our enemies and bless those who curse us. This may seem hard, but it is actually an act of forgiveness. When you pray for those who have hurt you, God will release you from the negative situation and bless you because of your obedience to His Word.

We have all experienced hurt, pain, and anger as a result of injustices, unfairness or just plain insensitivity by others. You are not a bad person because you have negative emotions. In fact, some negative emotions are natural indicators that tell us we are in harm's way. Not all emotions are bad, but God does not want you to be controlled by any emotion. He wants you to be in control. When you allow emotions to govern your life, you are crowning them as god of your life. When you do this you have given your emotions a higher place than God, which will cause you to stray from His will for your life.

Please understand that negative emotions affect you both spiritually and physically. Doctors have discovered a link between unforgiveness and cancer. In his book, What You Don't Know May Be Killing You, Dr. Don Colbert draws a connection between harboring unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, fear, resentment and physical disease. He says that deadly emotions can "wreak havoc on our physical bodies" even to the point of preventing the body from releasing toxins from the gallbladder and liver. Dr. Colbert notes, "The excessive stress caused by negative emotions is quite dangerous because it increases our cortisol levels, which then suppresses the immune system. When the immune system is suppressed, cancerous cells begin to form and grow. Holding a grudge, for example, is the act of holding an emotion which, if not released, increases the body's negative stress level. This affects the blood pressure, adrenaline levels and increases the risk of heart disease."

Ephesians 6:16 says "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." To quench means "to put out or extinguish." That means that if hurt is a dart, then the shield of faith has the ability to quench it before it can get to you. You can quench those darts by speaking the Word of God in faith every time Satan rears his ugly head. If you do not know the Bible or what is says concerning your situation, you will not have the faith necessary to repel his attacks, but by getting the Word in your heart, your confessions will be packed full of power that will send the devil running. When people come against you, and you are tempted to retaliate, instead choose forgiveness as an act of faith.

Remember forgiveness is not a feeling or an emotion but a decision. Here are some ways to free yourself from hurt:

• Once you forgive, stop rehashing the pain. Do not relive the hurt by bringing it up and rehearsing it. 
  
• Don't make excuses for being easily hurt. It does not matter your race, sex or personality, you can decide not to be offended. 
  
• Make sure you are not "wearing your emotions on your sleeve." Stop announcing to others that you have been hurt. Let it go!
  
• Don't try to get even with people who have hurt you. 
  
• Take communion over the conflict that arises in your life. Partaking of the Lord's body and blood in communion settles things. It is a blessing from God that restores peace in our lives.

You don't have to be subject to the injustices that you've suffered in life. Rise up in the faith and knowledge that God has your back.