But may the God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:10-11 NKJV

One of the most important decisions a Christian will ever make is who will reign over their life. People hate words like submit and surrender, but we all submit and surrender to someone or something.

So, now that we have established that we are all slaves to someone or something, I ask who reigns over you. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your life? Or are there those who control you through jealousy, anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness?

Ephesians 4:31-32 specifically states that we are to let all bitterness, wrath, anger, shouting, and slander be removed from us along with all malice or evil intent. We are instructed to be kind and compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God forgave us.

If you are in bondage to sin or anger or bitterness or unforgiveness, you can break free. When we sin, we can come to our Lord and Savior and repent and receive forgiveness. We are told in Psalm 103:12 that once our sins are forgiven God moves them as far from us as the east is from the west.

I recently was told that someone said something about me and a loved one that was hurtful. It was said at a most inappropriate time and place. My initial reaction was to be furious with that person and I must admit I nursed that for a bit. But I prayed and remembered what the Bible had to say about these things.

I remembered how God has blessed me when I have forgiven. I also have seen God punish those who perpetrated evil against me and others. I know that I must forgive. I can tell you that I am incapable of forgiving such things. I will admit to that, but I serve a God who can do all things. And through Him, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13). I can even forgive the unforgivable.

I do this through prayer. Anytime I feel anger and bitterness creeping in, I pray to God to help me to forgive them. I pray to God for their salvation so they can be a sister in Christ and not an enemy.

If I fail to do this, they have dominion over me. No one should have dominion over me except the Lord. If I am going to be a servant or a slave, I choose to be a servant of Jesus Christ. I can’t truly focus on Him and serve Him with all this anger and bitterness in my heart. I must forgive in order to be set free.

You may have heard it said that refusing to forgive someone is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die. Holding bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart is only going to hurt you. It will not hurt the other person. Besides, they are doing a good enough job hurting themselves by slandering you.

Romans 12:19 tells us we must leave vengeance to the Lord. Romans 12:21 tells us we must not be conquered by evil but must conquer evil with good.

Life is too short for me to be in bondage to someone who is trying to hurt me. I can’t be their slave through my unforgiveness. I can’t let them live rent-free in my head.

I must focus on Jesus and let Him do the rest. I must repent of my sins and accept His forgiveness, then I must extend it to those who have hurt me.

He has to be the Lord of my life. I must ask God to fill my heart with His Holy Spirit and remove any bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness from my heart. The only way I can break free from the evil around me and perpetrated against me is through His forgiveness and my forgiveness towards others.

If you are refusing to forgive someone who has hurt you, let it go. Turn to God and ask Him to forgive your bitterness. Ask Him to remove it far from you. Pray for the person who has hurt you (Matthew 5:44). Pray for their salvation. They will either reconcile with you and become your brother or sister in Christ or they will suffer at the hands of the Lord.

Trust in Him today, let Him help you break free through forgiveness. The power and the glory belong to Him and only Him forever and ever.

Have a great day!