I sat silently listening to this young girl pour her heart out. It was obvious, she was speaking out of years of hurt. For that reason alone I said nothing.
Later, I would ponder her words and ask God for direction in how to speak with her.
This young girl had been a drug addict for many years. She is clean now, and had been for two years. She was finally in a good place and seeking God. It was obvious from her words that she stayed in the Bible, endeavoring to learn about God. I believe her heart is right before the Lord.
Then these words came out of her mouth. “God told me it was all so and so’s fault.” I spoke up and said, “now, they may have made mistakes but your decisions were not their fault.”
This morning, upon waking, the Lord kept speaking these words to me, “Accuser of the brethren.”
As I said, I realize she was speaking out of hurt and perhaps this person she blamed had made wrong decisions, ones I am sure they wish they had done differently, but God is never the accuser of the brethren. That title belongs to one person alone, Satan.
We cannot come into agreement with the accuser of the brethren. It’s not our job to accuse, but to forgive and love.
Revelation 12:10 says, Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”
I understood this girl very well. I’ve been where she is, in a place of hurt beyond words.
In those times we want to find someone to blame, surely it is someone else’s fault. Perhaps, others did play a part in the hurt we are feeling, however, people are not our enemy. Most of the time, people are doing the best they can at the time. I know for myself, there are many things I wish I had done differently in my past, but I didn’t, and I must move on with the attitude of doing better from here on.
Ephesians 6:12 says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
The Passion Translation says our hand-to-hand combat is not with flesh and blood. Our war is not with people, and we simply cannot come into agreement with the accuser. We must forgive and RELEASE those who have hurt and disappointed us. We must give them to God and love them as Jesus loves us.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12
Because of Jesus, every sin, every bad decision we have made has been cast from us – as far as the east is from the west. Isn’t that amazing! And, we must do the same thing with those who have transgressed against us. If we are to stand in agreement with God, we must cast every offense that has come against the same distance – far from us and far from them.
I learned many years ago, when we hold people in bondage to the hurtful things they have done to us, we not only hold them captive but we also hold ourselves captive. The only way for US to go free is to release them completely and give it to God. I am not saying it is easy but with God all things are possible.
Many years ago, I felt such anger toward a person. I prayed and prayed about it but I couldn’t seem to release it once and for all. Each time I saw them, I knew I wasn’t free from the feelings I had. As I continued to pray, God led me to a powerful scripture that changed everything.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
That day I began to pray, “God, I confess my feelings toward this person as sin, I ask you to forgive me and CLEANSE me from all unrighteousness.”
I love how the Amplified states this verse;
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
He will continuously cleanse us from everything not in conformity to his will in purpose, thought and action. And that is exactly what God did for me.
Each time I saw this person and anger arose, I declared, “God, I thank you that you have forgiven me of that sin and are continuing to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.” It did not happen overnight – but one day, I walked into the office and saw this person and I realized I had no hard feelings at all – not one negative feeling or thought. I was free and so were they. This is what we must do with those we can’t seem to forgive or release.
My friends, our agreement and alignment must be with God and His way of doing things. He says forgive that we will be forgiven. He says the devil is the accuser of the brethren – one we must not align with. Let’s not accuse, instead let’s forgive, love and release. Let’s extend mercy, the same mercy God has extended to us. Through God, we can do this and walk free – we can all walk free.
