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Foreman, George – The power of forgiveness
Identifier
025816
Type of Spiritual Experience
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A description of the experience
God in my Corner – A Spiritual Memoir – George Foreman
Perhaps you’re wondering why we need to forgive. You're saying, "George, you just don't understand what this person did to me. I can’t forgive because I'm still hurting too much." What that person did to you may have been wrong, and your hurting is real as a result. But that's exactly why you must forgive. If no one did anything wrong, you wouldn’t need to forgive. If you weren’t wounded, you wouldn't need to be healed. But the pain won't go away until you pardon the person and let go of the hurt.
Unforgiveness will eat you up inside and drain your life of all happiness. Whenever you sit down to eat a nice breakfast, the person you hate pops into your mind. You can't enjoy your meal because you’re thinking about what he did to you. The rest of your day is ruined because your enemy is living inside your mind. If you go on a paddleboat ride to relax, you can't row two strokes without thinking, I can't believe she betrayed me like that. I'll never forgive her! Meanwhile, the woman you hate is oblivious to the fact. The only one who's suffering is you.
WHENEVER YOU GO T0 BED, THE INVISIBLE PERSON GETS IN BED WITH YOU, KEEPING YOU AWAKE ALL NIGHT.
When you go on vacation, you don't leave the unforgiven person behind. You take him along, and he sits next to you during the entire trip. Whenever you go to bed, the invisible person gets in bed with you, keeping you awake all night. You toss and turn because you can’t get your enemy out of your mind. You can’t rest. You can't enjoy your meals. You can’t take pleasure in anything. All because you won’t forgive. It’s a miserable way to live, isn’t it?
Nevertheless, millions of people have never figured it out. They’ve locked up people in the jailhouse of their mind and won’t let them out. And the prisoners are rioting inside! That's why some people have no peace of mind. They prefer to live in constant torment, rather than set their prisoners free. That's the way I used to be until I forgave all the people who offended me.
The truth is, I couldn’t forgive my enemies before I met God. I didn’t have the willpower within me to do it. It just wasn’t natural, or logical, to let those who wronged me off the hook. Unless He did it through me, it wasn’t going to happen.
The good Lord had to put His supernatural love inside my heart before I could express it through forgiveness. When God saved me in Puerto Rico, He removed all hatred from my heart. I no longer felt the need to hire a hit man because I didn’t hate anymore.
God's forgiveness removed my rage, and I know it can remove your hate, too. Forgiveness will heal your hurt and your heart. When you forgive, you'll release the prisoners from your self-made jailhouse.
THE PAIN WON’T GO AWAY UNTIL YOU PARDON THE PERSON AND LET GO THE HURT