Week 4 – Day 22
Dear Friend,
“The Blood of Jesus is enough! The Blood of Jesus is enough!”
These words rang out to me in prayer one day. “Of course it is!” I thought.
“The Blood of Jesus is enough! The Blood of Jesus is enough!” The statement continued in my spirit loud and clear.
As I began to ask God what He meant, a revelation dawned on me: No matter what has ever been done to me, the Blood of Jesus was enough to pay the price. The price is different in everyone’s mind for the hurts that we have experienced during our lifetime. For some of us the price is the apology never given, the admitting that the person is responsible for their wrongdoing, the acknowledgment that we were innocent and this “wasn’t fair”. For others it is a lifetime of self-flogging and penance of begging for our trust again, while forever feeling the guilt that they will never deserve it. For some it is that they experience the very same horror we felt at the hands of our abuser. Yet God declared that the Blood of Jesus was enough to pay the price in full. Christ experienced all of those things and more when He went to the cross. He carried all the things that are owed to us by the people that have hurt us, even the things that have yet to happen to us in the future. The Blood of Jesus is enough.
Whenever the Holy Spirit brings up the subject of forgiveness, reception can be varied. As long as we are discussing God’s amazing love and forgiveness for us and the removal of all condemnation from our lives, we are open and tear-filled to hear more. Yet when God comes to us in the quiet times, coaxing and wooing us to open our hearts to the deepest parts of our soul where wounds lie hidden, we balk and distance ourselves from Him and the conversation.
God is welcome to all of our fears and hurts that exist on the outside, but we guard the secret life experiences that have injured us, partially because we fear looking at them and also because we fear letting them go and becoming vulnerable once again. Most people who have been hurt without healing build up a defense against further injury, even in the body of Christ. When I had a hysterectomy the doctor removed the organ that was harming me, but later I developed pain in the empty area that did not make sense. My doctor explained that it was scar tissue. The danger was gone, but the wound had healed up with scar tissue that at times could interfere with my healthy organs. Wow! How many times do we look healed up on the outside and when someone rubs us the wrong way all the pain and ugliness of the wounds start screaming inside our minds at the injustice of the situation?
God never intended to let us heal up on our own. His healing is always complete restoration, but He needs our permission to finish the work. God never forces His way on us and His ways are higher than ours. In our plan we are just automatically delivered and never have to look at hurts that might be hiding inside. We get free from fear with a couple of Bible verses and a worship song or two. God’s way says, “Trust me first. Let me talk to you about the hurts and show you how the cross freed you from not only your sin, but the sin of others that holds you in that place where they hurt you… like it happened yesterday.”
The Blood of Jesus HAS TO BE ENOUGH! It has to be enough, because if their debt to us was paid by Christ dying on the cross for their actions (harm to us), then we can finally let them go. We can forgive them the debt that they owe us because it is no longer an injustice, the price was paid. Even though I had known this mentally, this revelation set me free big time. People had harmed me in vicious ways and even destroyed my character publicly. Trusting people in the future would be impossible if I couldn’t get past the hurt and forgive them for their sin against me. Once I recognized that Christ went to the cross and took not only my shame, but also their sin and my pain from it, true freedom began to come alive in my soul.
Most people never realize that the key to freedom from fear is understanding and submitting to the power of forgiveness!!! The devil wants to hide within your unforgiveness; holding you in bondage and lying that God hasn’t set you free. In reality your freedom is in your decision to tap into God’s power of forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t an emotion or feeling, it is a choice where you speak out your will to forgive long before you ever “feel” like you did.
Today, God is reaching out to you! He is asking you to trust Him, to allow Him into the secret places of your soul where hidden hurts lie. He is asking for your permission to minister healing to you. He is the healer of the brokenhearted, just look at Psalm 34:18-19.
Psalm 34:18-19 (WEB)
18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart,
and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
Let Him heal your crushed spirit, let Him love on you today. He is your Father, and He will never leave you or forsake you. He will walk you through this process and never let you down.
Love,
Jen
Prayer of Forgiveness:
Father God! I am hurting. The pain seems stronger than I can handle but you are asking me to trust you. I trust you to heal me as I forgive. So I choose to forgive ___________________ today. Jesus paid the price for what they did so I let them go and release them from the debt I felt they owed me. They no longer owe me anything and you will make it all up to me with your love. You have forgiven me and now I WILL (to) forgive them. Emotions, I speak to you in Jesus’ name. I forgive ________ and let them go! Emotions, you will no longer hold onto the hurt and bitterness. I am free in Jesus’ name!!!
*Now begin to worship God and let His love and power wash over you. You might have to repeat this prayer and go before the throne for awhile as you release the habit of holding the debt over this person in your mind. With time in His presence the freedom will become more prevalent and you will find love and mercy overtaking the hurts.
**At the same time, forgiveness and trust are two different things. God asks us to forgive, but He never asks us to stay in abuse. He is a loving Father, who does not abuse His children. If you are in danger within a relationship or it is toxic to your emotional or physical well being you must reach out and ask for help and assistance to keep yourself safe.
