{"id":14488,"date":"2026-04-16T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=14488"},"modified":"2026-03-07T06:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T11:43:24","slug":"release-the-offense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/release-the-offense\/","title":{"rendered":"Release the Offense"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Forgiveness and prayer go hand in hand. Without connection to the Savior, we can\u2019t forgive. Only when we let Jesus lead, viewing the offense from His perspective, will we gain the ability to release the offense. Prayer changes our hearts, freeing them from bitterness and resentment towards others. The Lord helps us to see past the offense to the hurt behind it. Hurting people hurt people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my younger days, when I wouldn\u2019t release my pain to the Lord, angry at Him and everyone else for my lot in life, I hurt a lot of people. The pain within me would come out in hurtful words that struck to the core. Like a snake, coiled up, ready to strike, my words would bite. Not until I started following Jesus, releasing my pain to Him, did transformation begin. Instead of hurting people, I\u2019ve learned to lay my pain down at the foot of the cross and allow the Lord to heal my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way, when someone strikes out at us, we must look past the offense to the motivation behind it. Often, we\u2019ll find a hurting heart that needs love. By praying and asking God for help, we can release the offense and bring them before the Father, asking for His divine intervention in the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Jewish culture, people often stood while praying. We start with forgiveness when we approach God, both for ourselves and for others. Asking the Lord to forgive our indiscretions helps us to offer grace to others. The Savior doesn\u2019t limit forgiveness to small offenses, but to all grievances. By doing so, we keep our connection to the Father open and unhindered. A heart that refuses to forgive others becomes hardened and struggles to receive God\u2019s grace. The Lord will give you the strength to forgive, and by doing so, it will free you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holding onto unforgiveness hurts you, not the other person. Imagine holding a burning coal while waiting to throw it at someone else. You get burned, not the other person. Only when we release the stone can we free ourselves from the burn. The Lord will work things out; He knows the entire situation, and justice will come. But God didn\u2019t call us to become judge and jury; He called us to become lovers of people, extending grace to them as He does to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seek the Lord in prayer when offended. Ask Him for help to release the offense and rid yourself of the burden. Live in the freedom of Christ, letting go of hurts, and allowing the Savior to mend the wounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Who do I need to forgive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has God helped you forgive in the past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What freedom do you feel when you release an offense?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Write the name of the person you need to forgive. Pray a blessing over them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two-minute read. Forgiveness and prayer go hand in hand. Without connection to the Savior, we can\u2019t forgive. Only when we let Jesus lead, viewing the offense from His perspective, will we gain the ability to release the offense. Prayer changes our hearts, freeing them from bitterness and resentment towards others. The Lord helps us to… Continue reading Release the Offense<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14488"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14496,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14488\/revisions\/14496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}