Counsels on Relationships

Counsel #17 — God’s Spirit

Picture: Counsel #17 — God’s Spirit CR 375.1

Have you ever tried to “just forgive” someone through sheer willpower? If so, you know how impossible that truly feels. When you’re hurt, especially by someone you love and trust, those wounds go deep. Memories will replay, and emotions may start to rise again, making that grudge you thought you put to bed come back alive. CR 375.2

This is because real, genuine forgiveness isn’t something humans can manufacture. Rather, it’s something God’s Holy Spirit produces in us. Jeremiah 13:23 reminds us that a leopard can’t change its spots. In the same way, we can’t change our own hearts to release bitterness without God’s help. Left to ourselves, our natural tendency is to get revenge, but when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, He begins a transformational work. A great example is how Stephen prayed for the forgiveness of his attackers as he was being stoned. That kind osf response doesn’t come from human resolve, but from divine power at work within us. When we surrender our hurt to God and ask for His Spirit to lead, forgiveness is no longer a forced duty; it’s a supernatural gift we’re able to extend.^[396] CR 375.3

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Zechariah 4:6 NIV CR 375.4

“Let Christ, the divine Life dwell in you…” Ellen White in The Faith I Live By, p. 131 CR 375.5

Reflect: Are you trying to forgive in your own strength? CR 375.6