When our hearts are wounded, we have two choices. How we respond will lead down two very different paths. We can choose healing and a path back toward joy. Or we can choose offense and stand on the slippery slope and slide slowly into bitterness, anger, depression and demonic oppression.

And let me tell you a truth. The demonic realm uses offense as one of its most effective weapons upon believers. The demonic likes to whisper the deceptive words into our ears such as you didn’t deserve that. You are absolutely right to be hurt. Those words are unforgivable.

What is difficult about choosing healing is that the demonic will twist words of truth to lure you down the slippery path. You may have been hurt and you DID NOT deserve to be. But it is a deceptive lie that you are entitled to be offended. An entitled offense will hook you then steal your joy and hope.

With this said, I want to share the process of walking through healing back toward joy following an emotional wounding or offense.

One: Take the pain to Jesus. Immediately, pray. Ask Jesus to come and hold you and to take the words of pain out of your soul. Ask the Holy Spirit to touch your heart and bring healing. Do this over and over until you start to feel peace and a change in your heart.

Two: (Here’s the hard part) Ask the Lord to help you see this person the way He sees them. When I do this, I often can see my attacker’s wounding. I can see they are filled with fear and failure which motivates their hurtful words. Often I see insecurity cloaked by pride and selfishness. I can sense the fears and pain from wounding, neglect, or unloving parents or others who should have cared for them when they were a child.

This kind of empathy develops a supernatural compassion. And when you begin to see them from outside of your pain, it changes how you move forward.

Three: (This is the REALLY hard part) Choose to forgive. Choose to let go. Choose to not be offended. How do you do this? I literally must speak these statements out loud. I take angry thoughts and thoughts of revenge and hurtful words of response, captive to Christ. I put into practice all I’ve learned about the power of our words and I pray them forth.

I take captive any and all repetitive thoughts of an angry response. Thoughts that are unkind, unloving or hate motivated. Over and over. And over and over again, sometimes over many days until they come into obedience and alignment with the truth of the Word.

Then I bless. I bless that person with the knowledge of the love of Christ. With joy, peace and whatever else the Holy Spirit places on my heart. And I can do this with a genuine hope that they receive all they need through Christ.

This process over a few days and/or weeks will bring about healing and leads me out of pain and darkness into light and joy.

Now, I do want to chat about relationships that need boundaries and I hope to get to that soon. Stay tuned.

Today, I have another assignment. In the last post, your homework was to give the Holy Spirit permission to work with you in areas of offense. So today, your homework is to take out that list and start to work this process in prayer with the Holy Spirit about that person(s) who hold offense in your heart.

My friends, offense grows and becomes a block in your prayer life. It will stifle the Holy Spirit’s work. Offense cuts off love from flowing out of us to others. That is why the devil employs this tactic often. Today, I implore you to forgive every offense. Our work here on earth is to learn to forgive and learn to love. Dealing with an offense with Jesus leads us on the path, Everlasting. And living without offense it FREEDOM. It’s life without fear and pain. It is living the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10:10. It is a life of joy and peace. It's GLORY!!!!

So, what do you need help with in this process? Share in the comments. Hugs, Lynn

Luke 17New King James Version (NKJV)

Jesus Warns of Offenses

17 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”