The Prison of Unforgiveness

546- Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 14:12-14a, “ Therefore the woman said, "Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king." And he said, "Say on." 13 So the woman said: "Why then have you schemed such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again. 14 "For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. (2 Sam 14:12-14a) The widow has set the trap that was cleverly laid out by Joab, and now she springs it. How is it that the king is quick to pardon the widow's son for murdering his brother, and so slow to pardon Absalom for the murder of his brother? The widow's son pardon would not affect the nation of Israel nearly as much as the pardon of Absalom, for he was the heir to David's throne! How could Absalom possibly become a king if he was banished? The widow was asking David to rethink his position! Maybe some of us need to rethink our position on forgiveness in our own family. The widow makes a point to the king that you only go around once and life is short: She says, “For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.” Indeed, life is too short to turn it into a breeding ground for bitterness! Heb 12:14,15 tells us: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;” I greatly regret my own struggles with forgiving my parents after their divorce. It took years before I forgave my father, and my mother didn't hear me utter those words “I forgive you,” until she was on her death bed! I am not proud of that. To see the look on her face when I said those words is too precious for words, yet it was a crushing blow to my own soul as I realized for the first time what I had robbed her of for all those years. Are you harboring unforgiveness? Please learn from my mistake before it's too late. Unforgiveness is a prison for all involved. Ask Jesus to help you forgive. He can set you free from this prison as you learn to forgive one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph 4:32)