You're Strong Enough by Kassi Pontious Page B

unforgiveness can create dark mists on our path home. Those dark mists can lead us to self-destructive paths. As a result of the darkness, some will try to do what they can to mask the pain from unforgiveness. These masks may look like drugs, alcohol, porn, suicide and premarital sex. Don’t be fooled by Satan. He will have you believe that these acts will make the pain go away. They won’t. They only make the pain worse by giving our future to Satan through following his path.

    Use the Sword of the Spirit to cut through the lies Satan is telling you. The Spirit can, and will, teach you what is right and wrong for your life. As a result, the Spirit can help you heal from the pain you are going through by keeping the power of choice with you.
    Anytime Satan tries to be your puppeteer through anger, fear and hate, remember to use the truths you know to be true (i.e., love, forgiveness, and peace) to cut through the strings Satan tries to attach to your soul.

    Forgiveness will lead to healing. Healing will save you on your quest back home. Forgiveness is the key to ridding ourselves of darkness on our path and remaining strong for future obstacle courses. The Lord believes forgiveness is so important to our well being that He made it a commandment, as explained in Matt 18:21-22, “Then came Peter to him, and said, ‘Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?’ 22. Jesus saith unto him, ‘I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.’ ” Why do you think it’s a commandment from God? Because this commandment is for us, not the other person. God knows unforgiveness will cloud our view and tempt us to go off course. Whereas forgiveness will bring us clear skies, stronger muscles and sharper vision on our quest back home.
    Forgiveness and Healing
    To explain how necessary forgiveness is on our quest back home, I want to use being wounded on our journey as an example. Picture, for a moment, being on this quest. On the path you are taking, you see trees on both sides. The terrain a bit rough (divorced parents), but nothing you can’t handle. And as you’re walking along enjoying life, someone jumps out of nowhere and stabs you in the leg (molested). He then takes off and leaves you there bleeding in pain. What you do?
    The Band-Aid of Time
    If you choose forgiveness, your first step is to put a Band-Aid on the wound. A Band-Aid represents time. Time is a necessary step when we have been wounded by others. It takes time to learn to forgive, to get our negative thoughts and feelings under control, to seek counsel when needed and to view things with more clarity then we would’ve the moment we were stabbed. In time, you will notice the Band-Aid of time did its job to stop the bleeding (i.e., anger, hurt, pain). But forgiveness starts when the Band-Aid is taken off and air is allowed to work its magic on the wound. This step is hard. The act of taking off the Band-Aid might be as painful as the wound itself (forgiveness can sometimes be very difficult).
    The Air of Prayer
    Air heals any wound completely. Without this step, the wound would remain moist and susceptible to infection. Prayer, like air, is a necessary step in complete forgiveness. As you start to forgive those that have harmed you, you’ll find it easier to forgive them if you pray for them. Ask our Heavenly Father to help you forgive them. You will find, as you pray for those who hurt you, God can and will transform all the negative feelings you have towards them. As you pray for them, God can help you turn anger into compassion, hate to pity, revenge to charity and infection into healing.
    The Scab of Forgiveness
    After you’ve use the Band-Aid of time and the air of prayer, you will find the scab of forgiveness is in the final phase of healing. When a scab forms, it creates a hard shell over the wound, protecting it against future infection and bleeding. Similarly, forgiveness and prayer