Day 10: I’m Feeling Offended

LET’S CHANGE IT TODAY

1. Being offended traps you. Skandalon (offense) is the trigger of a well-baited trap. When an animal touches the trigger of a snare, it snaps down on him and he is trapped. When you are offended, you are the one caught in the trap. By thinking and knowing this, it will empower you to stay out of the traps.

2. Being offended comes from self-righteousness. We think, “How could they do that to me? I would never have done that!” But we have all sinned. Embrace humility with the sure knowledge that you have failed, too. And offense loses its grip on you.

3. You can’t afford to pay attention! 1 Corinthians 13:5 (Amplified Bible) says, “Love (God’s love in us) is not touchy or fretful or resentful.” Why? “Because it pays no attention to a suffered wrong.” We get offended when we pay attention to the wrong we have suffered. Stop paying attention. It’s too expensive.

4. Take back control. We let others control us when we pay attention to what they did to us. What God did FOR you is greater than what others have done TO you. Focus on what God has done for you.

5. Express UP, not OUT. Fully express your anger and hurt out loud to God. Tell Him how much it hurt. Forgive the offender (out loud to God), whether you feel anything or not; and ask Him to heal you.

6. NOTHING CAN OFFEND YOU! How is that possible? Psalm 119:165 says, “Those who love the Word have great peace, and nothing offends them.” One of the meanings of the Greek word for “love” is “attachment”. Attach yourself to what God says, and you’ll detach from the power of what others have done or said to you. That’s what it means to love God’s Word.

THINK IT AND SAY IT

I am free from being offended. I am free from the emotions of offense, bitterness, and the right to feel mad. I will not be trapped by those feelings. I love God’s Word. I attach myself to what He said and did. I refuse to pay attention to the wrong done to me. I forgive and release those that have hurt me. I express my feelings to God, and I am healed, in Jesus’ Name!

Pastor Larry & Pat Downing
Foothills Community Church
Collections of thoughts from varied sources
Scripture verses from KJV or NIV unless specified