For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he….

-Proverbs 23:7a, KJV

Forgiving an enemy is hard work.

It is hard to interrupt the ruminations on revenge. The thought gets going and builds steam until it consumes your emotional well-being.

This is not good.

Why give an enemy so much power over our emotional well-being? Haven’t they taken enough? Why give them our peace?

It is important to understand that forgiveness is a process NOT a one-time event. Like healing a deep wound, it will take time for this process to produce the fruit of a healed soul.

We can choose forgiveness. It is an act of the will, not a feeling. That is why it can be commanded. We do not command feelings.

However, that choice is just the beginning of the process.

Forgiveness is an ongoing, active choice.

Each time Satan tries to suck us down the bitter-hole of morbid rumination, we have to choose to say,

“No, I have forgiven them! They are God’s to deal with.”

Like any exercise, the more we do this, the easier it will become. It is like building a muscle. Soon the temptation to morbid ruination will become less and less until it totally disappears.

But that only happens if we take an active role in committing to choose forgiveness whenever tempted otherwise!