A Journey of Forgiveness and Freedom
Driving to my mother’s house, I passed a billboard, and to my surprise, I recognized the face on it. It was my former arch-enemy—let’s call her Carla for confidentiality purposes. Back in 2010, Carla and I had some real beef. When I say “Love and Hip-Hop” kind of beef, I mean BEEF!
After I saw the billboard, God asked me, “How did seeing that make you feel?” I responded, “What do you mean? I don’t feel anything.” And He said, “Exactly. Your life has changed so much that none of those characters are even in your life anymore.”
God then reminded me of what He’s been showing me in the Spirit: the set is changing. Imagine you're at a play. The scene ends, the curtain closes, and when it reopens, everything is different. New characters have arrived. This is also how life works—there will be times when God rearranges your life to such an extent that everything looks different.
This made me reflect on the people currently in my life. How many of them will be around 5 to 10 years from now?
Today, God has been speaking to me about forgiveness. Years ago, I decided to forgive Carla. It was a decision, but the emotions didn’t follow immediately. I remember having prophetic dreams with her in them, and in those dreams, I was cleaning out a house while speaking to her. Little did I know, God was purging my heart of unforgiveness for Carla.
Seeing her face on that billboard today, I felt nothing. It made me wonder: How many people are we holding onto unforgiveness for, who won’t even be in our next scene? Are you going to walk into your next chapter still talking about how Carla hurt you?
If you’ve been struggling with a bitter root of unforgiveness, I urge you to bring it to God today and surrender it at His feet. When they say forgiveness is for you, it truly is. If I had passed that billboard back in 2010, my mind would’ve gone straight to anger, possibly even seeking revenge. But God had to take me through a process.
First, He told me to choose to forgive her, knowing that the emotions wouldn’t follow immediately. I had to keep choosing forgiveness over and over again. Then, I remember running into an old acquaintance who told me Carla had cancer. The Lord put it on my heart to pray for her and her family. I didn’t understand why, but I was obedient. This was part of God’s plan to set me free.
Today, it hit me—I am completely free in regards to Carla.
God has rearranged the set of my life, and I’m ready to embrace what’s next without holding onto the past. If there’s someone you need to forgive, trust God’s process. The set is changing, and it’s time to walk in freedom.
Scriptures to Meditate On: Forgiving Others
The Bible encourages us to forgive others, even those who have hurt us, and to let go of anger, bitterness, and slander. Here are some powerful scriptures that discuss the importance of forgiving others:
- Ephesians 4:31-32: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
- Matthew 6:14-15: "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
- Colossians 3:13: "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
Meditate on these verses and allow God’s Word to work in your heart, helping you to forgive and let go, so you can move forward into the new set He’s preparing for your life.