SPIRITUAL BURN-OUT
INTRODUCTION
Spiritual burn-out runs parallel to what is happening in the secular world. There the term "burn-out" has been used to describe the condition of the person who has mentally and emotionally exhausted in his quest for success in his field.
Spiritual burn-out is not just something that happens to ministers, but when ministers burn out they get unwanted publicity -- sometimes even headlines in the news!
But we are seeing an epidemic of drop-outs from church membership rolls. Not the "Easter & Christmas attendees", but the enthusiastic, dedicated church workers, as well. Their leaving is usually prompted by a quarrel with another church member or being hurt or angry over not getting the recognition they feel they deserve. Suddenly they're gone! Instead of being at church on Sunday, they sit at home jaded and resentful over whatever caused those feelings in the first place. And some feel their faith abandoned them just when they needed it the most. In reality, their faith faltered when they turned their eyes on other people and not on God.
Not everyone leaves a church when they burn out. Some just settle for a lot less than what God wanted for them when they first came to Christ.
We have all heard of thousands who have come to Christ in foreign countries. But not all of us know that many times within a few short months, there is little evidence that anything ever happened in their spiritual lives. Why? To say that the preacher did not lay a good foundation in their lives is to avoid the truth. No doubt the Word was preached. But something either happened or failed to happen to the new converts. And today, they sit at home with their spritual memories, remembering a time when God was so real to them.
Most people would say that the devil won the victory. If that is true, it brings us to another question -- Jesus was victorious over all the powers of Hell. He said He would build His Church, and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. Something is wrong if we let the devil defeat us so easily!
Why are people burning out, dropping out or becoming "ho-hum Christians" in churches today? What can we do to stop the sweeping away of thousands of believers today?
Some say we should pray more. I don't dispute that prayer is important. But I'm afraid that many of those praying are themselves at the brink of spiritual exhaustion. Whatever brings about defeat is more than a lack of prayer.
Others might say it is a complete lack of faith, and tell you to "get into the Word". While it is true that the lack of faith is an ever-growing problem in our churches and most Christians need to be more saturated in the Word of God, some of the worst cases of spiritual burn-out are among those who have very strong faith.
I'm a strong believer in divine healing, and prayer & fasting. But I believe many churches are either teaching it the wrong way, or people are interpreting it in the wrong way. Telling someone that their faith is not strong enough, or that they have not prayed enough, or that they did not go deep enough into their fasting does nothing more than place a guilt-trip on a fellow Christian when what they need all along is encouragement.
We have all pretended these problems do not exist -- or we blame them on the devil in order to avoid facing the truth. And then, due to a lack of concern, we turn on backs on those believers who fall away from the church. But the problem remains IN THE CHURCH!
Many of our fellow believers are spiritualy drained. They have become negative and cynical, bitter and resentful, and most of all hurt. God would never leave them .... but He seems so far away from them. They are SPIRITUALLY BURNED OUT.
There is a famine going on this world -- a spiritual famine. Spiritual "free stores" (churches) are not making the food available to those who need it the most. The hungry have to "garbage pick" for whatever nourishment they can get.
As a new believer begins their journey, they have no real knowledge of Scripture, just a burning desire to know more of God. And they can usually come up with a way of gaining this knowledge -- through books, Christian radio and TV, self-help tapes and seminars.
There is no basis for truth in any of these things. As long as it goes under the heading of a "Christian book" or a "Christian seminar", it is accepted among church people, without ever looking into the background of these writers or speakers to see how their beliefs (as well as their lives) line-up with the Word of God.
In today's society, most people believe that if it looks good, then it must be good. If the person claims to be a minister or even just a day-to-day Christian, then he must be on target. And if the book is sold in a Bible bookstore, then it must be inspired by God.
And how many "Christian" speakers contradict one another! Or how many unprepared pastors have stood in the pulpit and delivered a message that was more inspired by something they read than what God spoke to them by His Spirit.
When people are spiritually sick and exhausted, we should look into what types of spiritual food they are consuming. Just as botchulism begins with eating bad food, Spiritual death usually begins with the wrong food of misinterpreted Scripture and teachings. And if this is coming from their pastor, Sunday School teacher or other church leaders, they will eventually all perish spiritually together.
The problems in the church today are not the lack of prayer, Bible study, faith or dedication. The problem goes much deeper than these things! What has made us not want to pray, not want to read the Bible, no longer be enthusastic for the things of God? Why is exercising our faith such a struggle when it is the very door to eternal rest in God?
It is not even open up to debate that Spiritual burn-out does not come from the Lord. The Gospel is called ... the message of eternal life (John 6:68), and says that we have passed out of death into life (I John 3:14). It brings us the peace of God, which passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7), joy unspeakable (I Peter 1:8), and gives uf the love of God, poured within our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). This does not sound like a description of a person who is burned out or weary.
Believers are tempted and will sometimes fall. They will experience times of darkness that can only be compared to the Valley of the Shadow of Death. There are times when a believer finds himself in near despair and might feel like giving up. But he doesn't!
Paul described his life as a believer -- never far from death, yet alive; always going through it, yet never going under; knowing sorrow, yet possessing joy that is inextinguishable (2 Corinthians 6:9-10). When a person is living by the truths of the Gospel, he cannot burn out. A person who has become exhausted does so because he has believed a distortion of the Gospel (which is NOT the gospel!) or has willfully not acted upon the real truth that was taught to them.
In studying the ministry of Jesus, it is important to note that He not only taught the truth but He attacked error at every opportunity. Jesus was engaged in a constant war with the beliefs that were held by the religious system called the Pharisees. Their beliefs were that one could gain acceptance by God their good works. If this is the basis for a persons religious beliefs, it will leave believers exhausted in their efforts to "perform" for God.
"Religion" is conforming oneself to keeping rules that govern conduct by which to approach God. It calls for complete obedience. The reason for binding oneself is to please God and be accepted by Him.
Religion began in the Garden of Eden at the fall of man. The first expression of man's fallen condition was to flee from the presence of God and hide from Him. From that time on, man outside of Christ has been afraid of God. He expresses that fear in atheism, which is hoping that He isn't there; and in materialism, which is hiding from Him in the materiel things of life, hoping He will just go away.
"Religion" is often based on fear, and many people don't come to God because they fear they can't "live up to" what He might expect of them.
Wrong beliefs taught by the system often moved Jesus with compassion. Matthew 9:36 states: "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them because they were fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd".
But to these sheep, weary and exhausted by religion, Jesus said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laiden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).
The word weary means "worn out, to have worked until there is no strength left". Jesus was speaking of being Spiritually burned out, void of all Spiritual strength, exhausted in one's attempts to please God. These people were burdened, heavy laden with all the rules that religion had placed upon them.
He was saying that He was the new Torah, the new Law that is not a list of commands, but a living Person,and to be yoked to Him gives rest.
Spiritual burn-out can only occur where there is either a fundamental misunderstanding of the Word of God, or a failure to apply it to our lives.
Throughout history, the Spirit of God has opened the eyes of men to see His unconditional love to them in Christ.
When man receives the gift of agape love, there is joy and celebration. But within a short time, religious leaders appear to turn this life of the Spirit to a rigid code. And the relationship with God reduces to a dead formula for living.
The believer is no longer known by Christ being the source of his life, but by the rules he lives by. Witnessing no longer is a sharing of Jesus himself, but an invitation to come to a certain brand of religion.
The more religious a person becomes, the further away from God he grows. Perhaps you've heard of being "so Heavenly-minded that you're no earthly good"! With increased dedication comes an increased sense of emptiness. Keeping all the rules does not satisfy the hunger within. So dedication becomes the eternal search for the ultimate offering that will please God and bring satisfaction.
"Religion" changes behavior, but not the heart. Following all the rules, the believer avoids what is forbidden, but his heart might still want to do it. Within our own strength, we are helpless. Only Christ living through us gives us the ability to live the life that is expected from us by God.
But the candidate for spiritual burn-out continues to struggle for spiritual maturity within the framework of the codes of his church. He becomes confused and disheartened. His enthusiasm wavers, and he realizes that he is only "going through the motions". Finally, he drops out of church, burned out by all of "mans teachings" that he has received.
Jesus warned His disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (Mark 8:15), which are deadly doctrines taught by men and not by God.
When Jesus rose and spoke to Peter, His words spoke the seriousness of the issue: "I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Galations 2:21). If a person seeks acceptance with God based on any man-made doctrine (not Bible-based) then Jesus was crucified for no reason at all.
When you first became a Christian (Born-Again), it was amazing at the way some of your old habits dropped off and a new lifestyle began from within. It was as if prison doors had opened, and you walked out as free as could be. You had a hunger for God. You lived in His prsence all of the time. So read the Scriptures daily.
It's at this time in a Christian's walk that many are side-tracked. It may be the pastor, a radio or TV evangelist, or a member of a prayer group or Bible study who has been a Christian for a long time. We feel that if a person is filled with the Spirit, then everything he says must be right. And so, the message of a mature believer is accepted, regardless of the content of the message.
This is a form of bondage!! Under the yoke of bondage, the spontaneous life of Christ within fades away and the joy of the Lord disappears.
It is only a matter of time before such a person becomes burned out, spiritually exhausted, and may fall away from spiritual things, including church attendance.
In the days of Jesus, a shepherd meant a lot more than it does today. The shepherd gave himself to his flock; he was totally responsible for the protection and nuturing. When Jesus spoke symbolically of "shepherds", He meant spiritual leaders.
But what shepherds teach the people often causes them to be scattered and left prey to every enemy that seeks to destroy them.
Ezekiel 34:4-8 speaks very clearly of this. "The diseased have ye not strengthened; neither have ye healed that which was sick; neither have ye bound up that which was broken; neither have ye brought again that which was driven away; neither have ye sought that which was lost; But with force and with cruelty ye ruled them. And they were scattered because there is no shepherd. And they became meat to all the beast of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord: as I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fled themselves and fed not my flock".
Jesus spoke of Himself as the Shepherd who had come to gather together His sheep, heal them and bring them to rest and safety. He referenced to Ezekiel to describe His mission -- "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
He saw the people as the broken sheep of whom the prophet had spoken. He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd (see Mark 6:34).
There are two words used here to describe the condition of the sheep. The word translated as distressed has been used in the Greek language to describe a person who has been attacked. He is now frightened, bewildered, too weak to move. Downcast has also been used to describe a person who has fallen down and is helpless to get up.
Jesus became their Shepherd. He described these people as lost, beaten sheep who, having had the truth stolen from them, were bewildered and ready to give up. Their spiritual leaders had so distorted the truth of God's Word that it had become a source of Spiritual death and exhaustion to them.
How does Christ Himself actually become manifest in our lives? We know that to try and imitate it in our own strength is utter despair. But how then does He live through us?
Some of the most important words Jesus spoke to His disciples were at the supper the night before He suffered and died. The disciples were confused and full of questions; they had no idea of what was about to happen. They didn't realize that they were living the history that was to be used in the New Covenant, bringing man to God.
Jesus shocked them at the meal by taking the place of the lowest slave and washing their feet,. He spoke of them loving one another with His kind of love . . . AGAPE. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35).
The old Covenant dealt with the Law, its commands and rituals. One learned from the teacher how things should be done, and then tried to practice what had been heard.
Jesus was saying that, with His resurrection, there would not be a new Law that everyone would have to learn. He Himself would be the new Law! He did not give them teaching to learn, because He was not only the Teacher, but also the teaching. He had said ... "I am the the way, the truth, and the life...." (John 14:6).
The new Law of loving one another with God's kind of love was not only a command, but Love Himself living within them. He would live at the source of their beings, and their lives would be an expression of Him.
He gave them an illustration -- "I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the Word, which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you, as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine; No more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: For without Me, ye can do nothing" (John 15:1-5).
He calls Himself "the Vine". The vine is life ... the unique sap that causes the vine to look the way it does, to bear the leaves, blossoms and grapes that it does. Jesus is saying that He is the life that makes a believer who he is, and the believer's lifestyle is His life in manifestation.
Paul spoke plainly of this in Galations 2:20 -- "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me..."; and in Ephesians 3:17 -- "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith"; and in Colossians 1:27 -- "...Christ in you, the hope of glory...".
The extent to which this can be realized in our lives is unlimited! The New Testament makes it clear that the fullness of God now dwells in us. "For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2:9-10).
One of the major causes of Spiritual burn-out is the distortion of our faith. We say we live by faith, but often it turns into a work of the flesh. And when we do, Spiritual exhaustion is bound to happen.
Faith is essentially a trust and response to a given set of facts.
Faith does not start with man. Our faith begins with God opening His heart to us. His love and grace is made real in Jesus. It begins with God's character and what He has done for us through Christ. Faith's first action is a trusting in the truth God has given.
God has revealed Himself in His Word, but faith is given when the Holy Spirit makes that Word alive to us personally. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).
Faith is a response to something or someone outside of itself -- in this case, the revelation of God in Jesus and His faithfulness to that revelation. The response takes the form of opening the door to allow God in Christ to be all He has promised to be; it is letting God be God.
In ourselves, we have no faith that can please God. The faith that we have in Him comes from Him!
There is no struggle trying to have enough faith to meet a problem situation, for faith does not come from who we are but Who He is ... "Wherefore seeing we also are compased 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. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).
THE Greek word for author would be better translated source. our faith finds its source in Who He is, and finds its strength in His faithfulness to His Word.
But The Bible is not to be used like a textbook, selecting the appropriate Scripture. The Holy Spirit must take the truths of Scripture and make them real in the heart. So when Paul preached, he depended completely on the Holy Spirit to make the Word real in people's faith.
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (I Corinthians 2:4).
After Paul left a place, he never ceased to pray for the believers there that God's heart and character would continue to be given. "Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Ephesians 1:16-17).
Faith cannot be based on what God has done for someone else. He must speak His Word in our heart, which will not leave us with "mind knowledge", but with total knowledge in our hearts.
Faith is abandoning ones own self and resting totally in God. Faith is a commitment to what we have now seen and heard, burning bridges behind us, and walking into the unknown future having staked everything on your belief in Jesus. "... the word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:8-9)
The acts of faith does not not save or heal us. But it is the means by which God does within us that which He desires. It allows Him to walk into our lives with all the blessings He has in store for us.
As faith responds, the Spirit witnesses with our spirits that the thing has been done; and we know we are united to God in Christ. Galations 4:6 says, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."
Through the Holy Spirit, God makes the written Word come alive in us to accomplish His work in us.
We do not come to God saying, "Do this for me because of my faith". Faith is unconscious of itself an dsays, "Do this for me because of Who You have shown Yourself to be!" You don't come to God dealing, you come to God knealing!
Everything in our life changes by the simple commitment to true faith. You will never again have a struggle to have enough faith. Whether for healing, for needs to be met or for an answer to prayer, faith simply lets Him come into any situation. He is the healer and the source of all blessings.
When Fear comes knocking on your door, let Faith answer!
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The Pharisees studied the Scriptures and said prayers believing that these acts would somehow tap into God. But Jesus told them the only source of life was from Himself. And as He said in John 5:39-40, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Similar dedications, promises and vows to God that our life will be completely His from now on fall into the same cagetory. How dedicated must a person be before life begins to flow? What level of being "sold out to God" must we be at before the first trinkle of the life of God begins to come? All of these works will move a person more quickly to burn-out.
In Col. 2:6, Paul tells us how to abide and walk in Christ daily. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him."
We receive Him by faith, and in the same way we abide in Him and express Him to the world. Paul spelled out what he was praying for to the Ephesians. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith..." (Ephesians 3:17).
Minute by minute, we live by faith in His ability within us. In this way, the divine energy of His love is released through us into every situation in which we find ourselves.
We have come to the very heart of the Good News; it is faith and not works! In the New Testament, to accept the Gospel was seen to be an obedience of faith. That is, a response to and rest in Christ, who had become their Saviour and life. Not obedience to rules imposed by man. It is not even obedience to the Ten Commandments, but the obedience that rises from our faith. Romans 16:26 -- Obedience of Faith. Romans 1:5 -- "By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name". Acts 6:7 -- "...and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith".
It is at this point that a believer burning out in his efforts to please God moves from exhaustion to rest. From tired and wearied in his struggle to perform acceptably for God through the disciplines and dedications of religions. He hears the grace of God, and the Holy Spirit makes it alive in his heart. Regardless of feelings and appearances, faith holds to the Word of God and declares that God is living within.
When doubts arise, faith does not panic. It simply turns to Him who is the source and perfector of our faith, knowing that He is committed to His Word in our situations.
Our feelings are the necessary "trigger" for our faith to replace our weakness with His strength. Now we can understand Paul's triumphant statement: "...for when I am weak, then I am strong" (II Corinthians 12:10).
How many of us wake up in the morning and say ... Praise God for this new day, knowing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13) and that for me to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21), and life is now defined as "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27).
But as we go through the day, all of a sudden temptations come from every direction. And many believers fall apart. We get confused and wonder ... if Christ is in me, how can I be temped like this, and why do I feel like this? We feel alone, unshielded, overwhelmed, and backed up against the wall.
There are countless believers who live in condemnation because they hear temptation knocking at the door, such as wrong thoughts entering into their mind.
Freedom comes when we understand that temptation is not sin, and that the temptation does not come from God (James 1:13 -- "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God can not be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man"). Jesus was tempted in all things as WE are, yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Satan loves a believer to think that his temptation by itself has caused him to sin, whereby causing him to be in constant struggle when temptation comes.
Again, temptation alone is not sin. It is only when you act inappropriately on the temptation that it becomes sin.
God does not tempt us, but God allows temptation in order to establish or build our faith.
Before we came to Christ we were one with the world ... a world that lies in the power of the Evil One (Satan), I John 5:19. A world that, as I John 2:16 tells, consists of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.
But now having been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the the Kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13), we see that before we were saved we were bound and subject to darkness and its works; that we were accustomed to it; that we hardly even noticed it 90% of the time.
James 1:14-15 spells out, step by step, how temptation takes place: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death".
We do not resist temptation with will-power. We resist and over temptation by turning to Christ, our Life within. He is recognized as the positive answer to the desires that have been negatively excited. If the call is to impatience, He is our patience. If to hatred and bitterness, He is our love and our forgiveness.
It is in this sense that God has chosen temptation as a means to glorify Jesus throughout our lives.
But what happens if we do sin? If we are thrown off balance and forget who we are, finding ourselves guilty? Speaking to believers, John said "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).
In dealing with the problem of Spiritual burn-out and exhaustion, we must not forget that we are spirits who live in physical bodies. And the resurrection of the body has not yet taken place. If we abuse our bodies through the food we eat, lack of sleep or an overloaded schedule with little or no time to rest, we can be sure that it will be reflected in our frayed emotions, dull minds and weary spirits.
If we are under great physical, emotional or mental strain, that too will reflect in our spirits, and will cause our spiritual energy to be drained.
Paul points out that our human weakness is necessary so that we may constantly be showing the power of Christ in our lives (II Corinthians 4:7).
However, when we are pressured, unless we are aware of the danger, it is easy to lose sight of the grace of God. We can become disoriented and fall into the trap of drawing on our own strength.
A person is healed of burn-out when he receives a fresh revelation of who God is and discovers a new relationship with Him.
One of the major problems a burned out person has is unforgiveness. It usually is deep-seeded because of resentment and bitterness.
A Spirutally burned out person has been disappointed on all fronts, but especially with other people. All the hopes the Spirutally exhausted ever had of walking with God in some way involved other believers. The list of people who have failed to live up to his expectations seems endless. Many times it seems we can handle hurts from unbelievers easier than from our brothers and sisters in Christ.
A major step to returning to Spiritual strength is to forgive all those who have been part of the hurts in our life, forgiving those who have failed you, who were not there when you needed them the most. To forgive the gossips who carried the news of your exhaustion or problems to everybody they knew. To forgive those leaders or elders who have hurt you with their words and actions. To forgive those who you thought were Spiritual giants, but were found to have feet of clay and a set of weaknesses just like everyone else.
Jesus prayed for those who hurled Him to His sufferings and death. "...Father forgive them; for they know not what they do..." (Luke 23:34). Peter spoke of Jesus in His humanity, and how He was able to forgive those who had hurt him the worst. I Peter 2:23 says, "Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously."
Peter reminds us that when people hurled abuse at Jesus, He did not descend to their level, wanting to get even.
When we look at His example, we realize that forgiveness towards another person involves more than just the "forgive and forget" principles we have been taught. We must reach down deeply in the very heart of our faith in God, surrendering to the truth that we do not have the power of judgment not the divine mercy to serve justice. Forgiving another human being is stepping out of the situation altogether and leaving it up to God to judge that other person. To forgive is not to say that the other person was right in what they said or did to you; it is simply releasing him from any restitution you feel he owes you, and placing him carefully and lovingly into the hands of God.
We must use our faith to forgive and to first acknowledge the people we hold a grudge against. And also to confess the sin of hardening our hearts towards those who have hurt us. The fact that they did wrong does not justify our resentment. And we can not forgive them until we ourselves have received forgiveness for harboring these feelings against them. Not only do we forgive because Christ expects us to forgive, but because Christ Himself IS forgiveness and Christ LIVES within us. Romans 5:5 says "...because th4e love o God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us".
When we forgive as God forgives, we must forget as He forgets. But does God totally forget? We need to understand that there is NOTHING that God doesn't know. He is omniscient and knows all things. He never forgets. When God pardons us, He has not forgotten our sins -- but He chooses to never bring them up to us again. In the New Covenant, He says "...for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:34).
"To forget" and "to remember no more" are not synonomous terms. You can't help it if you forget something; it just vanishes out of your mind. But to "remember no more" is a CHOICE; you have made the conscious decision to not think of it or dwell on it.
An example is when you have cut yourself and it bleeds. As long as it is an open wound, you think about it constantly, not able to get your injury and pain off your mind night or day. But once the healing process has occured and the wound has healed over, we don't think about our old scars every day -- and usually don't ever concentrate on them again.
Do not let bitterness remain in your heart and in your life. Begin today (and begin anew every day) receiving God's forgiveness for all resentment that you have allowed to grow, and thereby speeding you to Spiritual exhaustion. Develope a lifestyle of forgiveness to all who have (and those who will) hurt you.
Through forgiveness, not only will God bring you to new levels of Christian maturity, but He will do the same for those who have hurt you. And in so doing, the separated Body of Christ (the Church) will be reunited into one functioning body, which will be an immovable force in the Kingdom of God.