Luke 17:1 (NKJV)
Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come,
Offence will come, as long as we are here on earth and you and I interact with one another, opportunities will present themselves for us to be offended, question is what will you do then? Will you hold on to the offence and allow it to take root in your heart or will you forgive and move on?
Matthew 24:10‐13
“And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
As we have seen, when we give offence a chance to take root in our hearts, then it bears the fruit of hatred, betray, strife, un-forgiveness and even betrayal.
So then what do you do? How do you ensure that offence does not take root in your heart?
Genesis 45:4-5
Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Forgiveness is the key, regardless of what has been done to us; we must forgive if we are to move on. Joseph’s brothers had done a despicable thing to him yet in Joseph’s eyes he saw it as a God given opportunity and set up and he held nothing against his brothers. He trusted God to lead and guide him and he would not allow anything in his heart to come against that. It was not only his brothers who had betrayed and offended him, Portiphas wife falsely accused him of attempted rape and Joseph became a prisoner. The chief butler forgot about Joseph when he was restored to his position just as Joseph had predicted. Joseph had more than enough reasons to be offended and to be bitter but he made a choice not to hold on to offence, he trusted God and God did not disappoint.
Holding on to offence and un-forgiveness builds a barrier that blocks you from your destiny. When we hold on to offence we become prisoners in a prison we have built ourselves.
Matthew 6:14 (NKJV)
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
It is time to forgive, it is time to move on into your destiny. God has so much in store for you, a great destiny awaits you but you have to forgive, you have to detach yourself from the chains of offence and un-forgiveness that are preventing you from moving on.
