Do people see the good in you? Or do they see someone full of hurts, pains and bitterness?
The way you live today is a product of the choices you've made throughout your life. You can place the blame on others for how you "turned out," but you, and only you, are in control of your life today. It is no one else's fault for your present circumstances.
You have a choice. Everyday you make choices. You choose to get up out of bed. You choose what to wear each day. You choose what you'll eat for lunch. You also choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood each day. The choice is yours.
When people say things to hurt your feelings, you have the choice to be offended or release it and move on. You can choose to be offended, to carry an offense with you everywhere you go for years and years. You can choose to voice that offense to everyone in order to obtain sympathy. You can be what the devil wants you to be; offended. Or you can choose not to be offended.
It is an act of your will to forgive those who have hurt you. The Word of God is the standard by which we are entitled to live, and it plainly says that you must forgive and release offenses from your heart; no matter how severe the pain was. When you choose not to be offended and begin to pray for that person, just as you would for a very close friend or a relative, the anointing of God will come and deliver and destroy those yokes, and a relationship can be built.
Romans 14:13 describes what our attitude should be: "Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."
On a different note, we need to be cautious of the fact that some of our own actions could cause others to be offended, and if so, change them. Don't do those things that you know are offensive and insulting to others. Be aware of what you say. Think before you speak. Your words can destroy a person's self-esteem, or they can bring them up to a higher level.
The closer you are to a person, the more hurtful an offense can be. And Satan knows that. If you've been divorced and you're not healed of all the hurts and wounds from your first marriage, it is almost inevitable that you will carry those hurts into the second marriage and end up destroying it. It is extremely difficult to have healthy relationships when you continue to carry around all the hurts from the past.
The Word of God can change that! Psalm 119:165 (AMP) says, "Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble." You may want to write that scripture in the back of your Bible and look at it from time to time.
How will you respond when offenses come? Don't get offended! Don't take the bait. Don't get caught in the trap. Refuse it. Forgive, forget it, and move on with God. The choice is yours. What is your choice? If there is something in your heart that you've been holding on to, possibly for many years, then as an act of your will, let it go today! Determine that today is your day of deliverance. You are going to feel as though a heavy, tremendous burden has been lifted from you.
So make your choice to forgive and forget; even if you weren't in the wrong. And never bring it up again. Put a smile on your face, a twinkle in your eye, a spring in your step, and be a blessing everywhere you go. The choice is yours.
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Carolyn Savelle has an incredible testimony of growing up her entire life under the power and anointing of Jesus. She was reared in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she heard preachers such as Oral Roberts and William Branham. Throughout her life she has witnessed God's miraculous power.
