Forgiving and Saying, "I am sorry"

It happens in personal life and on the job? It happens with me either being the offender or someone offending me, and it is hard to say, “I am sorry” and it is hard to forgive the offender. Since I need to always be prepared, I have to remind myself of scriptures I use to accomplish forgiveness because the struggle can be real. 

 

I only have to consider Ephesians 4:32 to know what I should do and why. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” 

 

I certainly want God to forgive me. I can think of nothing worse if He declines my request for forgiveness. Therefore, I look to Matthew 6:14-15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

 

I must say that I am selfish and want what is good for me, and it is not good for me to carry the burden of unforgiveness. It eats at my heart and only hurts me. I want and desire a merry heart so I must “let go” of resentment and forgive. Because of this I am reminded of Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” 

 

I have found that I can only forgive if I can also pray for the offender, and I pray that I will always be willing to do so even if it does not change the situation. So I consider what Matthew 5:44 says, “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”   

 

Now what do I use to help me say, “I am sorry?” Below are just a few:  

Psalm 38:18, “For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.” 

Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” 

Acts 8:22, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.”