I will hear what God the LORD will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; but let them not turn back to folly. Psalm 85:8.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
On the night He was betrayed, at that Passover Seder meal, My Son gave you His peace, His shalom, which is wholeness and well being in every part of you—spirit, soul, and body—and in every area of your life. But He gave you a part to keep that peace in your heart—do not let your heart be troubled, do not let it be afraid. John 14:27.
My Son was abused by the religious leaders of the day to the point of blows on His head and body and spitting in His face. He was ridiculed, mocked, and rejected as the Messiah and Lord. He was given over to a cruel and unjust death. But His heart was at peace. Why? He had forgiven all, even the sins of those who struck Him and rejected Him. He was on a mission of salvation, and He was not about to let anything get in His way. He was obtaining salvation for all who would receive it. He knew He had a high calling for which I had anointed Him and He saw all of you in the future generations for whom He had won Heaven forever. His delight is to be with the children of men and there was only one way He could bring them back to Me and that was forgiveness of sins by His blood. That was the joy that lay before Him. And on the cross, He prayed for all of you, “Father, forgive them they know not what they do.”
Jesus, who is your Teacher, had not only forgiven them, but He prayed for Me to forgive them too. What do I tell you to do? Pray for your enemies.
And think of Joseph, the son of Jacob, his brothers beat him and threw him in a pit, they then sold him into human slave traffic and thought he was out of their lives forever. They lied to their father and caused him to go into deep depression and unforgiveness against Me for the loss of his beloved son.
But Joseph knew Me, and he trusted Me to work all out for his good, for his promotion, and for the joy that lay before him he let go of all that would hinder him from achieving the high calling he knew in his heart I had on his life.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3.
Joseph walked above it all and let Me take care of it. He had peace and joy in his heart. And that opened him to promotion, honor, riches, health, long life of good quality, and blessing. Evil was all around him, from his brothers betrayal, the shame of being sold as a slave, the false accusations of Potiphar’s wife, the shame of prison for something he had not done, the cupbearer who forgot him for two years despite his promise to remember Joseph to Pharaoh, and the coming of his brothers for food in the time of famine, but though it was around him, he did not let it enter his heart.
There is no peace in a heart of unforgiveness. A heart of unforgiveness is a troubled heart. And who is causing the trouble? You may point your finger at the one you have unforgiveness towards, the one who wronged you, but that is pointing in the wrong direction. Turn your accusing finger around at yourself. My Son told YOU not to let your heart be troubled. It is one thing to have evil around you, for it is everywhere that Satan and his demons have taken a stronghold in people’s lives, but it is another thing to let it in you.
Do recall what Joseph said to his brothers when their father died and they believed Joseph was like them and was holding a grudge against them to harm them? They flung themselves out of fear at his feet and begged forgiveness, they even lied saying that Jacob and told them to tell him to forgive them, but Joseph had no issue with that, he had forgiven many years earlier and let it go. His answer is wisdom that you should learn if you have ought against anyone:
But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:19-21.
He left judgment to Me and he forgave. He was kind. Love is kind. He did good to those who hurt him. He did not condone their evil deeds but he did not let them make him into a bitter, angry man that would have lost his high calling and destiny. And Joseph did great things for Egypt and for all the surrounding nations. He was the servant of all but he himself became the greatest in the kingdom of Egypt next to Pharaoh.
My Son became the servant of all, but I exalted Him to My right hand as King of kings and Lord of lords. There is no one greater than He who became the servant and least of all. He emptied Himself to make you rich with all His riches and thus I highly exalted Him and gave Him the Name before whom all must bow.
And Pharaoh, in an earthly way, did the same for Joseph.
Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” Genesis 41:38-44.
There is great reward for those who forgive and go forward to their high calling in Christ.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14.
There are some things that are better to forget and leave behind. Your sins and offenses I remember no more. They are gone, taken by My Son, you are free of them. To Me, it is as if you had never sinned at all, not just forgiven but gone. Let it be that way with you as well. Jesus died for everyone. But as Joseph told his brothers, they meant to harm him and that was for Me to judge in each case but Joseph went forward and left judgment to Me.
There will always be trials in this life on earth as it is now because of Adam opening his door of dominion to Satan, but it will not always be that way. Soon, when Adam’s leasehold term has expired, My Son will break the seven seals on the Title Deed and take back My fee ownership of the earth. And then all things will be made new by My eradicating the curse that Adam let in and reactivating the Eden blessing, only better than before, for Heaven and earth will join and I will give all to those who have passed the test.
Do you know the test? I put before you life and death, blessing and cursing, love and hate, forgiveness and unforgiveness, what you choose will determine whether I can entrust you with the Kingdom or not. Adam chose death and failed the test. And all his seed was trapped therein. Jesus chose life and passed the test. And all who are born again by My Word into life in Christ have been set free from the law of sin and death.
But for the present, there will be people who do the devil’s will, and even you have done this yourself in moments of weakness, for the spirit is willing but the flesh is still in its weakened and mortal condition. But in forgiveness there is wholeness and in mercy there is redemption. Blessed are those who show mercy, mercy shall be theirs. Give to receive, for what you sow you will reap.
Be careful how you walk, not as foolish but as wise to redeem the time, for these days are evil.
There is no peace for the wicked. And as you well know if you have gone there, there is no peace in a heart of unforgiveness and condemnation. Whether it is for others or about sins you have done, you are not at peace when you are holding something against another. You became fixated in your thought patterns on going after that person or yourself. What am I telling you? That a heart of unforgiveness is a wicked heart of unbelief. It is a heart taken captive by the evil one to carry out his will upon the earth. For the devil is a thief that comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And that is what unforgiveness does. It destroys your life and often the live of the one you have not forgiven.
I am sure you have seen this in bitter people who have developed a hatred for their parents, their spouses, their siblings, their bosses, and I could go on. Some may have had reason to do so but others it just developed from resentment over correction or direction being given in what they considered a harsh way or from feelings of rejection. But in any case, it is a bitter root that must be pulled out and dealt with, or that weed will grow and take over the whole inner garden of your heart.
People who are stuck in this kind of behavior and grudges do not develop in life to their true destiny. They hinder and cripple themselves and become hateful and hated and eventually become a care for others since they have disabled themselves. Jealousy, hatred, bitterness, depression all eat away at the bones and other organs of your body. Eventually your brain is so overloaded with these toxic emotions and thoughts that it shuts down and goes into what they call Alzheimer’s disease and dementia to be free of the accusations and bitterness. There is no peace for the wicked, it makes your body shut down to stop the persistent gnawing away that is unforgiveness. It will devour you.
The wise person builds a house but the foolish one tears it down with his or her own hands. Death and life are in the hand of your tongue. Unforgiveness, released in malicious speech about another, is speaking death.
I speak peace, shalom, to My people.
Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation. I will hear what God the LORD will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; but let them not turn back to folly (kislah (כְּסִלָה), stupidity). Psalm 85:7-8.
I speak peace to you, do not go back to the stupidity of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is folly. Unforgiveness of yourself or others is torment. It gives you no peace. It troubles your heart.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way. Psalm 85:9-13.
I love you. It is time for you to grow up and let go of all that unforgiveness that is holding you back from running your race to the finish line. After all, you have a cloud of witnesses cheering you on! Let Me help you to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles you and let us run your race together all the way to the crossover line to the Kingdom. Keep your eyes on Jesus and live your life with Me through Him. He is My gift to you.