Forgiveness and Hearing God's Voice

Years ago, I was praying with a friend. We gossiped about the people for whom we were praying. God spoke to me directly about this. “When others frustrate you,this shows you are judging them. When you experience frustration or anger, pray for them. As you pray for them, you will, in time, understand my heart for them. This will release them from your judgement and free them to be dealt with by me.”

This works well also when others do things that bring bondage into our lives or situations when they control us.

Loss Is Real.

I did not realize it at the time, but the Lord gave me the answer to unforgiveness that day. There were times over many years that others did unbelievable things to me or my family in the name of Christ, and I struggled with bitterness. Their actions caused trauma, and that trauma still has physical ramifications today. Yet He called me to forgive. I needed to get from a place of deep wounds to total freedom from the results of their actions. The painful circumstances the perpetrator brought on my life made this more difficult. I saw life through their actions. Their sin colored my lens, a lens that became a fear lens because I never wanted what they did to happen again. I lived on high alert because of this.

Torment and Unforgiveness

I discovered that unforgiveness torments the person who harbors it. At these times, I remembered what the Lord showed me as a very young Christian. Forgiveness and hearing God’s voice are critical. I prayed for those who hurt us until I could release them from judgement, bitterness and forgive them. I see them now as a positive influence, not because they did positive things, but because I determined to obey and forgive, thereby turning a curse into a blessing. Their sin helped form me, but this cannot happen unless I obey God. God is good at bringing something eternal out of man's sin.

We can do nothing about other’s disobedience, only ours. God uses circumstances for good, but He calls us to obey His voice for this to happen. Forgiveness does not let the other person off the hook, it lets us off the hook of anger, bitterness and negative narratives. Now God can heal us.

God has a prescription for our healing. He does not treat symptoms, but the source of our brokenness. Healing only comes as we hear Him. His word is a large part of this, but so is His speaking voice through others and to you.

When We Forgive We Choose Truth

Increased Presence

His voice to you is critically important because only He sees the lies that hide from you. These lies guide your life. They are the lens through which you view events. If He is the only one who sees the lies. Then it takes His intervention to set you free. He yearns for you to be free so you can enjoy His presence in new dimensions.

Song 2:14    “My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”

He wants to meet you in the hiding places of your brokenness for fellowship. Yes, there in the places you hide from the truth of your pain, He meets you. In that intimate place, He can show you the truth that keeps you from intimacy with Him.

Our Hiding Place

The hiding place of our sin becomes our hiding place with Him, a place where He hides us in Him and He in us. Until we experience this, we find it hard to fathom. Pain keeps us from seeing this, it keeps us from seeing the past. So, it becomes important that we keep seeking Him in His word and speaking voice until we find this hiding place in Him that frees us from our pain. Then we can become wholly devoted to Him. Do not hide in your pain. Choose to remove the lenses that skew your perspective. Let Him be your hiding place. He is waiting in the cleft of the rock.