Are you struggling to forgive?

Take Romans 5:5. Read it, pray it, declare it over your heart until you have forgiveness and love in your heart. Just as Corrie Ten Boom did. Corrie Ten Boom and her family lived in Nazi occupied Holland. The Ten Boom family hid Jews from the Nazis and helped the Jews escape Holland.

It's estimated they helped over 800 Jews and saved their lives. A man named Jan Vogels came to Cory saying his wife had been arrested for rescuing Jews and that he needed 600 guilders, several months wages to bribe a Dutch policeman to let her go. Corey gave him 600 guilders to save his wife.

He was a paid informer working for the Nazis. The ten Booms were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Corey's father, sister and nephew died in concentration camps. Her brother got sick there and died a year later. She suffered terribly there. After the war, Corrie heard Jan Vogels had been arrested and was being tried for war crimes.

His work with the Nazis had sent many people to their deaths. She knew God was telling her to forgive him, but she couldn't. God gave her Romans 5:5 so she could forgive Yanwe. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

She prayed and Holy Spirit poured God's love into her heart. She forgave Jan Vogels with the love God gave her. She wrote a letter to him saying she forgave him. He wrote back, if you could forgive me, by God's love, there is hope for me. He gave his life to Jesus.

God's grace is unmerited favor. In this case, God's grace flowed through Corrie to her betrayer. And that grace saved Jan Vogels from hell. Most of us have someone in our lives who did wrong to us. Who's that for you. I'm asking you to go to God to receive his love for that person so you can forgive them.

Let God heal your heart and replace your pain with his love.

Then as Holy Spirit leads. Send them a letter, text or an email telling them you forgive them. That note can't have a whiff of criticism, condemnation or anger in it. It must be God's love flowing in and through you. You have set yourself free from this offense by forgiving them, and now you can set them free.

Use wisdom about what you do next. If this person is not trustworthy, continue to protect yourself, but give them grace just as Jesus gave you grace.