Jacob had just left his father’s house in a hurry. His brother Esau was after him to kill him for stealing his blessing. His mother, who orchestrated the entire thing, quickly packaged a few things and sent him to her brother Laban.

On his way, Jacob encountered the Lord in Genesis 28. For the first time, he saw angels ascending and descending and the Lord Himself was revealed to him.. It was so powerful. It was in the strength of this destiny changing revelation that Jacob continued his journey, and the Lord, as He had promised him, indeed ordered his steps.

Genesis 28:15-17:Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”When Jacob woke up, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”

It was a divine encounter that made Jacob afraid. His perception changed, and when he resumed his journey after this encounter, it was clear that his steps were ordered. The next discussion after encountering God led him to the family he was looking for.

Genesis 29:2 tells us that Jacob looked and saw a well in the field, and he approached the shepherds. In verse 5 he asked the shepherds if they knew Laban, the grandson of Nahor. Oh, they knew him. In fact, the Bible says in verse 9 that while he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

Verse 10 says that as soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

So the first family member Jacob ever met after his encounter with God was Rachel. He was not only happy to meet her—he loved her. God had ordered their steps. Something spectacular had happened. It was even this same Rachel who introduced Jacob to her father. Amazing.

But how come this amazing Rachel became a very sorrowful woman? What would make such an amazing woman—one whom God had ordained that her union with Jacob would produce the seed Joseph that would bring to fulfillment the covenant God had with Abraham in Genesis 15?

Joseph was the seed that God had intended to send ahead of the family to Egypt. Joseph was the dreamer with the gift of interpretation of dreams that would save a nation from economic destruction. Oh, and not to forget Benjamin also. The seed that would produce a tribe that would produce the first king of Israel was in the womb of Rachel.

Do you realize that in the process of coronating the first king of Israel, Rachel was not left out?

Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 10:1–2:

“Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, ‘Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?’ When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’”

But how come the woman whose life was so ordered eventually became a woman of “sorrowful birth”? How did a woman of the covenant lineage of Abraham, an amazing fellow who carried the beauty of the promise and the weight of destiny, eventually become a woman who had to struggle and compete for love all her life? How did a woman whose relationship started with a “Covenant Kiss,” sealed between her and Jacob, her lover, have her relationship swapped in the dark? This precious soul even had to share her covenant matrimonial bed with her housemaid.

This is the essential fulcrum of this discourse: to expose how satanic manipulat

It is important to understand that vision was never designed to stop at revelation. When the Lord gives a vision, it is not complete simply because it was received. It is not complete because it was written down. It is not complete because it was preached, explained, or celebrated. Vision becomes complete only when it produces motion.

Habakkuk 2:2 declares, “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”

The divine order is clear. The vision is written. The vision is read. Then the reader runs with it. If there is no running, there is no fulfillment. Reading without running is mere knowledge. Vision without motion is information without manifestation. It is revelation without expression. It is insight without impact.

Motion is what gives life to vision. And because motion is what activates vision, the final law of promotion is the Law of Motion.

Under this law, the first requirement is that we run without weights. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” 

A weight is not necessarily sin. A weight is a counterforce. It is anything that resists your forward movement. It slows destiny. It hinders speed.

Opposition is a weight. When Nehemiah began to rebuild the wall, Sanballat and Tobiah mocked and resisted him. Nehemiah 4:1–3 shows the ridicule and indignation that rose against the work. But opposition did not mean stop. Opposition meant something significant was being built. Resistance often confirms relevance.

Negative association is also a weight. Jonah 1:3–5 shows Jonah boarding a ship in disobedience, and his presence introduced a storm to everyone onboard. One wrong association can become a counterforce against collective progress. Not everyone who is in your boat is aligned with your assignment.

Personal baggage is another weight. This includes offense. Unforgiveness. Regret. Trauma. Pain. Paul said in Philippians 3:13–14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 

You cannot run well carrying what God never intended you to hold. Motion requires release.

Secondly, we must run without sin. Hebrews 12:1 speaks not only of weights but also “the sin which doth so easily beset us.” Sin is violation of divine design. The race is set. The course is defined. You cannot run outside the boundaries and expect to win inside the promise. Jesus said in John 14:30, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” There was no contraband in Him. Nothing for the enemy to use.

Some run on false strength. Some depend on shortcuts and hidden compromises. But the believer runs by grace. Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Grace is not permission to fall. Grace is power to stand. If we are to experience promotion, we must run clean.

Thirdly, we run with patience. Hebrews 12:1 instructs us to “run with patience the race that is set before us.” Patience is not passivity. Patience is submission to divine process. Hebrews 6:12 says, “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Faith believes. Patience endures. Faith receives the word. Patience sustains the walk.

Sometimes what God promised feels delayed. Sometimes the baton has not yet reached your hand. But in a relay race you do not leave your lane because of delay. You wait, positioned, prepared, and

“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”
 Habakkuk 2:2 (KJV)

This is the Third Law of Promotion, the Law of Documentation. Promotion is not random. Promotion is not emotional. Promotion is a judicial process. God Himself acts as the Judge, and every judge makes decisions based on evidence, not feelings.

In any courtroom, documentation is critical. Documents must be reviewed. The authenticity of an agreement must be verifiable. Evidence must be clear so that judgment can be rendered without bias. Courts do not run on mental evidence. They run on written records.

Heaven operates the same way. Scripture shows that books are opened, records are examined, and judgment is based on what is written. The Bible says:

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”Revelation 20:12 (KJV)

If heaven keeps books, then documentation is not optional. Documentation is judicial alignment.

That is why God did not tell Habakkuk to memorise the vision. He did not say, “Keep it in your heart.” He said, “Write it, and make it plain.” God understands the weakness of the human mind. The mind is fickle. It forgets quickly. What is not written can be lost, distorted, disputed, or completely abandoned.

Documentation produces clarity. Documentation produces accountability. Documentation turns revelation into something stable, tangible, and executable.

This is why Moses documented divine instruction. The Bible says, “Moses wrote all the words of the LORD.” God even commanded him, “Write this for a memorial in a book.” Moses did not treat revelation casually. He wrote until it was finished. Paul also documented what was revealed to him so that when people read, they could understand. Scripture itself is preserved through writing.

Documentation produces tangible evidence, not mental evidence. What is only in the mind is private, unstable, and unverifiable. But what is written becomes reviewable, referenceable, and transferable. What is not written can be disputed. What is not written can be disregarded. What is not written is difficult to execute.

Many people have lost direction, not because God stopped speaking, but because they failed to document what God said. There are instructions God placed in your heart. Principles He gave you to guide your life. Warnings He spoke to protect your future. But you may have lost them because you did not write them down, and now even you have forgotten.

This is why many leaders and politicians today are completely off course. They speak everywhere, make noise, and move with pressure, but the vision God gave them was never written. God told some of them, “This is my plan for your life in government. You are to bring hope to the hopeless, defend the poor, establish my purpose in your city and nation.” They nodded when the Lord spoke, but once they arrived, they forgot, because they did not document it.

My dear, now is the time to write the vision, or to rewrite the vision with clarity. Make it plain. Make it simple. Make it so clear that anyone can read it and run with it.

What is the vision for your marriage? Were there things God told you not to do, and did you write them down? What principles did God give you for raising your children? What instructions did He give you for your family life, your career, your choices, your relationships? Have you written them down?

If you had documented the vision and reviewed it again and again, would you have made the mistake you made in the choice of friends? Would you have drifted the way you drifted?

Even Jesus did not begin His ministry by inventing a new vision. The Bible says in Luke 4 that He opened the book and found the place where it

Habakkuk 2:1 (KJV)
“…and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.”

Even before Habakkuk repositioned himself, he already had very clear expectations. He was prepared; he was not just ascending to have a scenic view of the city. He was not climbing to the top of the tower to enjoy the fresh breeze. No, his repositioning had a purpose attached to it: “I will watch to see what He will say unto me.”

His expectation would sustain him and help him persevere. I will watch. Expectation builds hope. Jesus did not endure the cross simply because He was Jesus; He endured it because of the joy that was set before Him. He had the expectation that after three days there would be such abundant joy that it would outweigh every pain.

My friend, Habakkuk knew God would speak. God would instruct, and he was even ready for the rebuke of the Lord. What an expectation.

My father once shared how he was drawn to a young person who was praying very fervently and ferociously some time ago. He was moved by faith to speak to this young, terrific prayer warrior who seemed to be unburdening themselves before the Lord. He asked, “What are you praying about? What is your expectation?”

The young person responded, “Oh pastor, I am not expecting anything in particular.”

Wow.

My father immediately replied, “Then you will not get anything in particular also.” You must get to a point in the Spirit where you have expectations attached to your worship, your prayers, and your honor for God.

I expect that as I lay before God, worshipping Him, God is so pleased with my worship that He immediately tells Jesus, “Yes, I have found Tope, My child. They have ascended again.” I expect my worship to ring a bell in heaven. I expect my praise and worship to move the hand of God and touch the heart of God. I expect these words to touch you and accomplish the purpose of God.

I am not just praying for praying’s sake, nor preaching for preaching’s sake. I am intentional about all that I do. Oh yes, they all interconnect beautifully to accomplish the purposes of God. Hallelujah.

What are you expecting?

Many reposition without expectation.
Many reposition casually.
Some reposition with zero expectation.

Promotion is not realistic without expectation.

May I leave you with this powerful scripture, Proverbs 23:18, which says:
“For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.”

Hallelujah. Surely, surely, surely, your expectation shall not be cut off. You must have very clear, divine, specific expectations. It is not all about getting and getting. No, everything must carry a purpose. Your love for God must position you as God’s best. Your love for God’s people, for your spouse, for your children will never be in vain.

I have seen people say, “I know that no matter how I love people, they will always pay me back with evil. I know that even this course I am doing will never give me a good job. I know that this prayer I am praying will not be answered. I know that this relationship will not go far. This person will certainly disappoint me.”

Some people live with the expectation that their spouse will cheat on them, leave them, and break their heart. Then you hear statements like, “I knew it would happen one day. My spouse is too attractive not to cheat. I just did not know when.”

Come on, shut off such expectations and see yourself building a long-lasting home with your spouse, building a legacy that will not be moved. Recalibrate your expectation, my friend.

Your expectation will provoke divine instruction. Your expectations will open you up to divine instruction, and then Isaiah 30:21 will become real in your heart:
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.”

Note this: God’s instruction becomes direction. D

“For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”
 Psalm 75:6–7 (KJV)

Many of us desire promotion in our daily lives. We long for the next level. We desire greater influence, deeper authority, visible progress, and tangible advancement. We pray for it, work for it, and sometimes even assume it is owed to us because of effort, sacrifice, or gifting. Yet Scripture confronts this assumption with sobering clarity. Promotion is not an entitlement, not an emotional response from God, and not the product of effort alone.

The psalmist reveals a governing truth that reframes everything. God is the Judge.
 This statement alone dismantles casual thinking about promotion. If God is the Judge, then promotion operates within a judicial system, not a sentimental one. Promotion does not happen because God feels impressed. It happens because a verdict has been reached.

In every courtroom, a process governs outcomes. A case must be presented. Facts must be examined. Laws must be applied. Evidence must be weighed. Witnesses must testify. Only then does the judge render a decision. In the same way, divine promotion is the result of a heavenly evaluation. Your next level is determined by judgment, not desire.

This explains why many sincere believers remain unseen, why gifted people remain untrusted, and why effort alone does not always translate into elevation. Promotion is not proof of spirituality. It is proof of alignment with divine law.

I am deeply convinced that God has positioned Himself to promote His children greatly in the year 2026. The courtroom is active. The season is ripe. But verdicts are never released outside of law. We must understand and submit to the Laws of Divine Promotion.

The First Law: The Law of Repositioning: Listen carefully, dearly beloved. God moves a person before He elevates the person.
Repositioning always precedes promotion.

Abraham could not become the father of many nations until he first moved. God called him out of his father’s house, out of idolatry, and out of his comfort zone. The promise was attached to movement. Remaining where he was would have disqualified him from where he was going.

Joseph had to be repositioned from favored son to slave, and from slave to prisoner, before the dreams could lawfully manifest. Moses had to be repositioned from palace to wilderness before he could encounter the supernatural at the burning bush. Access before alignment would have destroyed them.

Habakkuk understood this principle intuitively. He declared:

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the rampart, and will watch to see what He will say unto me…” Habakkuk 2:1

He was already standing somewhere, but he realized that his current position limited what he could hear and see. So he deliberately repositioned himself. That is divine wisdom. That is spiritual intelligence. That is the Law of Repositioning.

Repositioning is not always physical. Some must change mental positions. Some must change emotional positions. Some must change spiritual positions. God is saying clearly that if you want to qualify for promotion, your position must change.

I once spoke with one of our precious young daughters in the church about marriage. Through conversation, it became evident that she had already taken a firm position in her mind that marriage would never work for her. That mental posture alone had become a barrier. A position, once taken, governs outcomes.

Many have taken positions about their spouses, their businesses, their spiritual lives, and even their destinies. And God is calling us in this season to reposition ourselves. If you do not reposition yourself, promotion may remain far off.

God will give the instruction, but it is incumbent upon you to obey it.

Even our Lord Jesus

Do This Before Running…

Welcome to the year 2026. I believe God that this year will be the best of your years—that you will go from strength to strength and from glory to glory. Welcome to this glorious year, and my prayer is that whatever proclamations have gone forth from the Lord concerning you and your family, and all that you do, will be made manifest for you in the year 2026 in the name of Jesus. 

It’s already 9 days into the new year, amazing how fast the year is running. Many are already running with it and restyling without waiting on God. But before you run, do this first: wait on God and fast. The greatest thing to do is to wait on God. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, and they shall mount up with wings as eagles.

Many hit the ground running, they hit the year running. But strategically, it is best to hit the new year by waiting on God and fasting. There are so many benefits of waiting on God and fasting. It is great to set apart days, weeks, etc. to wait on God through fasting.

This must not be a religious activity, it must not be a routine or yearly church program. You cannot make the most of it if you are not purposeful. If you lack the understanding of the power of fasting, you will miss the power that comes with it.

Fasting is not a demonstration of spiritual superiority, it loses its potency when the purpose is misconstrued. Your church family may have declared 3 days of fast, or a 120 day fast, it does not translate to spiritual superiority or inferiority.

Understand that the period of fasting is to set yourself apart to seek the face of God. It’s a time to recalibrate, to turn down the noise, interference, and clutters of the flesh so that you can amplify your receptivity to the signals of the Spirit. The signal of the Spirit will give you great direction for the year 2026, enlarge your capacity, and thrust you forward with unstoppable speed of the Spirit.

Major things of the Spirit are not birthed without men waiting on God. Moses waited 40 days for the tablets of stone written with the fingers of God to be delivered unto him. Jesus waited 40 days before His ministry would begin. Paul and Barnabas would only be separated to the work the Holy Spirit had listed for them when the leaders, the prophets, and teachers fasted in Acts 13. Ezra fasted for direction with his people. Esther fasted for deliverance for her people. Just name it, fasting is vital.

Listen, be blessed, and share this with others.

In optics, radiance is the measure of how much light a surface releases, how strongly it shines, and how far its glow extends. It is important to state clearly that light never appears on its own. It always comes from a source. Whether it's a spark, a flame, or a star, every light has a source. The strength of the source determines the strength of the light.

John 1:4-5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.” Light does not appear by chance. It begins with life. Your radiance is directly connected to the life within you. Life is more than breathing or simply existing. Life is the core of your shining. When life flows fully within you, your radiance stretches far. Your purpose expands, your influence increases, your joy is strengthened. But when life is stolen, radiance is dimmed. The enemy understands this. Every attack on your life is truly an attack on your light, on your God-given brilliance, your influence, and your destiny.

Satan has used this method throughout generations. Look at Dinah in Genesis 34. She was the only daughter among Jacob’s children recorded in Scripture. She was meant to be the carrier of generational brilliance.

Sadly, Satan positioned a man called Shechem to dim her radiance. Through the abuse of that one woman, Satan brought down an entire city. The man who raped her died. His father died. All the men in the city were killed (Genesis 34:25-29).

Note that the abuse of a woman often leads to collateral damage. Dinah's family was not exempted. Her brothers became murderers. Jacob was troubled and wounded in his old age (Genesis 34:30). When he was about to die, he even cursed the sons who carried out the attack. The violation of one woman led to the destruction of both the guilty and the innocent.

Do you know that when the man went after Dinah, he even had a deeper secret desire? See what he said to his fellow brethren in Genesis 34:23: “Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours?” They understood that by violating one girl, they could gain access to the wealth and generational blessing of Abraham. They saw that her stolen life was a doorway into the inheritance of a covenant family.

What many young women do not know is that the enemy saw you as a doorway to greatness. He knew you were designed to be radiant and born to shine. So he positioned dangerous, damaged, and demonic people to come after you. Those people were being used even beyond their own understanding. They were manipulated to steal life. By stealing your life, the enemy hoped to gain access to the lives and destinies connected to you.

Tamar, David’s daughter, is another example of a stolen life. She too was violated, raped, and left desolate—not by an external force, but by a family member. Satan always uses external or internal agents. If not a stepfather, it’s an uncle, a cousin, an aunt, or a father. The abuse of a woman is one of Satan’s quickest tools to destroy multiple lives. Through just one stolen life, destinies, nations, and futures can fall.

My wife and I have met young girls who were used to break marriages, damage men, and tear down destinies through sexual perversion at its peak. When we prayed and asked questions, we discovered that their lives had been stolen at an early stage. A wicked messenger of the enemy came to abuse, rape, and shatter them. They carried the pain, the shame, and the loneliness. Some who could not find healing became instruments of destruction. But those who met Jesus became bright and burning lights again.

I sense the Lord saying, this is your season, precious woman of God. You will shine again. Your life will be restored. Your radiance will be restored. You will manifest the light of life. You will shine. You will live. You will grow, and you will rise in the strength of God. Hallelujah.

Enough of crying. Enough of weep

Exodus 34:6–7:“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

“By no means clearing the guilty” — this reveals the justice and accountability nature of God. Justice is the very foundation upon which God’s throne stands. It is the heartbeat of His kingdom. Justice is love aligned with holiness. It is love that refuses to trade truth for comfort or righteousness for convenience. Justice gives love its strength and holiness its meaning. It is how God maintains divine order in His creation and purity in His people.

In God, mercy never violates justice, and justice never cancels mercy. They coexist in perfect harmony, revealing the fullness of His divine nature.

Justice is the balance between compassion and conviction, between grace and truth. Mercy without justice becomes indulgent, and justice without mercy becomes cruel. But when both walk together, the heart of God is revealed — tender yet firm, forgiving yet pure, compassionate yet unyielding.

Justice is not punishment; it is protection. It guards love from becoming weak and holiness from becoming harsh. Mercy heals, but justice preserves what mercy has restored. Every act of divine correction is not an act of cruelty but an expression of care. Justice is how God guards what He loves.

In the covenant of marriage, justice manifests as righteous accountability — the willingness to uphold truth, protect purity, and preserve covenant. Justice in marriage does not come to condemn; it comes to restore. It is the voice that says, “I love you too much to let sin destroy what God has built between us.” It calls for truth, repentance, and humility. It refuses to let pride, secrecy, or deceit erode the foundation that God has sanctified.

Justice restores divine order where selfishness once ruled. It dethrones pride, silences rebellion, and exalts righteousness. It calls both husband and wife to integrity — in speech, in action, and in motive. Justice becomes the inner compass that guides them back to holiness whenever temptation whispers or weariness sets in. It is not control; it is covenant protection. It is not dominance; it is divine alignment. Where justice reigns, love becomes safe, trust is cultivated, and the presence of God abides richly.

Without justice, mercy becomes weakness. Without mercy, justice becomes a weapon. But when they unite, love becomes both strong and secure. Psalm 85:10 declares, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” This is the harmony of heaven, the culture of God’s throne. In such a marriage, mercy heals the wound, and justice ensures the wound does not reopen. Mercy restores the relationship, and justice sustains it.

To live justly in marriage is to live truthfully. It is to speak honestly, even when the truth is uncomfortable. It is to uphold righteousness when compromise seems easier. It is to set boundaries that honor God and to choose forgiveness that does not ignore truth. It means guarding the home as a sacred altar where the presence of God dwells. To dishonor your spouse is to dishonor God. To violate your vows is to violate His order. Justice restores that reverence and places the throne of God at the center of the home.

But hear me singles and unmarried: justice does not begin at the altar; it begins before the altar. It begins in singleness. It begins in the quiet places of integrity, in the discipline of truth, and in the willingness to be accountable. A person who avoids accountability before marriage will not suddenly become accou

The first truth about forgiveness I want to speak on today is this: you must forgive yourself. This is not for everyone, but for some of us, it is absolutely necessary. We make mistakes, and we will continue to make them. Some still blame themselves for a divorce. Others carry guilt over the death of a loved one: “If only I had sent more money… if only I had given more attention…” Some parents cannot forgive themselves for the choices of their children: “If I had been more present, my daughter would not have gotten pregnant… if I had not gone out that night, this would not have happened.”How long will you hold yourself captive in the prison of your past?

Forgiveness begins with you. Many remain trapped not because God refuses mercy, but because they refuse to release themselves. Past mistakes, wrong choices, repeated failures—these weigh heavily on the heart. Yet Romans 8:1 speaks with authority: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” No guilt, no shame, no past sin has power to bind you in Christ. Holding on to it keeps you chained, looking backward, unable to move forward in His grace. Until you fully embrace God’s mercy within yourself, extending forgiveness to others is impossible.

It is time to let go. Stop torturing yourself with “what ifs” and “if onlys.” Stop replaying failures that God has already buried in His mercy. The blood of Jesus did not cleanse you halfway—it washed you completely. Let the past die. Step into freedom. Forgive yourself, and then watch how God enables you to forgive others with the same unshakable grace.

Forgiveness also requires releasing those around us. Many marriages and relationships are bound not by open conflict, but by the silent prisons of unspoken pain. Choosing peace over pride, restoration over revenge, and words that heal instead of harm allows love and mercy to flow freely. Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 18:22 — forgiving “seventy times seven” — reminds us that forgiveness must be continual, an ongoing act of love and mercy even when offenses repeat.

A profound way to cultivate forgiveness is to see others through the eyes of Jesus. On the cross, with all the pain, shame, and humiliation, He looked down at those who had been healed by Him, or their relatives, who now spat on Him, whipped Him with thirty-nine lashes, wove a crown of thorns, divided His clothes, and nailed Him to the cross, shouting, “Crucify Him!” And yet He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Wow! What a powerful choice! Jesus did not say, “I forgive them”; He transferred the burden of forgiveness to God. He assumed that those committing evil did not fully understand their actions. Imagine if Jesus had believed they knew exactly what they were doing — forgiveness would have been impossible. How wonderful it would be if we could assume that those who hurt us do not fully understand their actions, rather than presuming malice. Often husbands and wives, or people wronged in other relationships, say, “He knows what he is doing” or “She knows what she is doing,” and forgiveness then becomes very difficult. 

When Satan desired to sift Peter like wheat, Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not. And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31–32). Jesus did not condemn Peter or express disappointment at his potential failure. Instead, He prayed for his recovery and saw a future where Peter would be restored and strengthened to serve others. Jesus looked beyond present failures, focusing on potential and divine purpose. This challenges us to do the same — to see a better future in those who are failing, to release bitterness, and to p

Exodus 34:6–7 “And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…”

Forgiveness is the very heartbeat of God. To forgive means to release someone from the debt of their wrong and to no longer hold their offense against them. It is not pretending nothing happened; it is choosing to let go of vengeance and to entrust the matter into God’s hands. Forgiveness is freedom, freedom for the one who gives it and for the one who receives it.

God forgives all kinds of wrongs – iniquity, which speaks of the hidden corruption of the heart; transgression, which means deliberate rebellion; and sin, which refers to human failure. He forgives not because we deserve it but because He delights in mercy. Micah 7:18–19 says, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

When God forgives, He does so completely, keeping no record of wrongs. Likewise, in marriage, where two imperfect people live together, offenses will surely arise. That is why forgiveness is not optional; it is essential. Forgiveness is the breath of love, the nature of God that holds a marriage when everything else falls apart. 

Without forgiveness, even the most beautiful marriage will suffocate under the weight of accumulated offenses. The marriage that breathes forgiveness will always rise again, no matter how broken it once was. A husband and wife who cannot forgive cannot truly love, for love and forgiveness are inseparable. When forgiveness departs, bitterness begins to rule, and when bitterness rules, destruction is only a matter of time.

Please, my dear friend, it is time to let go. You have carried the burden of unforgiveness for too long. You are hurting yourself; you are breaking yourself. Let it go and let God stand for you. It is time to forgive the wrong of your spouse. Forgive completely, forgive quickly, and forgive continually. Matthew 18:21–22 reminds us that forgiveness has no limit. Do not keep a record of wrongs. Stop rehearsing the pain and start embracing the healing. Forgiveness is not denial; it is deliverance. It is the nature of God at work in the human heart.

And to you who are single and preparing for marriage, be very careful if you meet someone who carries grudges in their hearts. When you hear things like, “I am not on talking terms with my father,” “I cannot forgive my mother,” “I cannot forgive my siblings,” “In my church, I do not talk to that person,” listen, you are in trouble. The person who carries bitterness is missing a vital nature of God. If the man or woman you want to marry does not have the nature of forgiveness, you better go back and pray, and pray again. That person is missing the heart of God and it will surely manifest in your relationship sooner or later. Forgiveness is the nature of God that helps you forgive all kinds of sin, transgression, and iniquity.

Also, it is important to understand that forgiveness requires acknowledgement of our wrong. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You do not keep doing wrong and refuse to acknowledge it. You must confess, you must take responsibility, you must humble yourself. Forgiveness is not a license to continue in sin. You must not use forgiveness as a tool for manipulation. Some say, “I know she will forgive me,” and then go on committing adultery. Others say, “I know he is a good man; he will forgive me,” while they continue speaking evil of their spouse. That is not lov