The biggest battle that we face in life is right between our ears. We often let the guilt and shame messages sink into our inner beings and rob us of true joy and contentment. The Bible says that one of the ways to battle the negative messages is to renew our minds (Romans 12:1) with things that are positive and healthy (Philippians 4:8-9). As we do this over time, we begin to win the battle and experience the joy that God wants us to have - no matter what’s going on around us.

Part of experiencing emotional healthy is being able to let go of the things that bring us down. Unforgiveness is one of those things. When we’ve been hurt by someone and we refuse to work through forgiveness, we damage ourselves emotionally. The chain of unforgiveness is actually around our neck - and attached to the other person. Forgiveness isn’t instantaneous. It’s a process. The Bible tells us that as Christ as forgiven us so we too ought to forgive each other.

We all make mistakes. Even King David in the Bible was known as a man after God’s own heart but he made a huge mistake by stealing a man’s wife and having her husband killed (2 Sam 11 & 12). But, he repented and asked God forgiveness (2 Sam 12:13). And, God forgave him as depicted in Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. If God can forgive David, there’s hope for us today! And, because of God’s incredible mercy toward us, we can extend that same forgiveness to others.