What If You Don't Obey God?

You may be thinking, What if I choose not to forgive?

"If you don't forgive," says Doug Easterday, "what you're saying by the inference of your actions is what that person did to you is more important to you than going on with God. There isn't anything that someone could do to you that would be more important than going on with your personal relationship with Jesus Christ."

If you don't forgive, you create a barrier between God and you. Holding unforgiveness in your heart is a sin. Dr. Myles Munroe says, "If you don't forgive, you cannot even pray. So if you are divorced and you still harbor bitterness in your heart toward that person who was in your relationship previously, then you have literally cut off your relationship with God. You have hindered your prayer life, and there is therefore no way you can actually ask God to heal that person or change that person because He can't even get through to you. Forgiveness is the key to getting on your way to healing because God can only heal you if He can reach you, and He can only get to you if you have forgiven the person who hurt you."

You are blocking yourself from the power of answered prayer when you choose not to forgive.

"If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Psalm 66:18).