When you hear the word forgiveness, what comes to your mind? You probably think of A offending or hurting B and B overlooking it and letting go. God expects us to forgive others as he forgives us of our own sins. But taking a look further, we see that it goes beyond that.
How about a case where you don't forgive yourself? What happens when you 'offend' yourself? What do you do when you feel you've caused something bad for yourself? This could be as a result of anything. It could be a past sin that keeps haunting you like a ghost. Maybe you've asked for forgiveness and God has actually forgiven you...but the devil keeps reminding you of it and this leaves you bitter. The unforgiving attitude may be due to feelings of inadequacy. You probably think you're not doing well enough now because you made a mistake in the past. It could be that you didn't do what you should have done or you let a good opportunity slip away; maybe you neglected your family or friends when they really needed you and now you've not forgiven yourself because you feel they've not forgiven you. Maybe your marriage didn't work and you think it was all your fault. Maybe some of these things have cost you a lot in your life, but that shouldn't be the end of your story.
We are humans and that's why there will be times we make mistakes and times we fall short of the expectations people have for us and those we have for ourselves.
Whatever the case may be, there's someone whispering to you now, if only you'll listen. He's telling you that you've been forgiven, he's telling you to learn from those mistakes and be a better person, he's telling you to keep moving forward and not backward, he's telling you to forgive yourself.
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