The Power of Foregiveness

 Do you understand when you refuse to forgive someone you are cheating God out of fulfilling His will. When you refuse to forgive someone you are literally harboring satan's poison inside you, and that will eventually wreak havoc, sickness, bitterness, and more in your life.

I want to share a testimony involving, deception, betrayal, lies, death threats, $1.4 million stolen and then through the power of the Holy Spirit something incredible happened.

Many years ago, I had a contract on a 98 acre farm. I agreed to a partnership with an uncle to subdivide it into 220 homes. I would retain 35% ownership in the subdivision. I took care of everything with the subdividing with the city (and in record time). 

My wife quit her job of 12 years as a Registered Nurse at a hospital and I walked away from the 6 financial services offices I had. My wife even took a course at a local community college on being a general contractor to have a better understanding of things so we could work together. 

We believed this would be the first of many subdivisions for us.

Once we broke ground to put the streets in my partner decided he didn’t need me anymore and wasn’t going to pay me my 35%. But it didn’t end there, he knew I wouldn’t just walk away from my 35%, so he started lying to my in laws that I was a terrible person and recruited other family members to side with him to turn them against my wife (their own daughter) and me. My wife talked to her mother every day and now her mother wouldn’t even talk to her. That devastated her. She cried herself to sleep night after night. 

A few months later we found out what happened. My partner’s wife (an aunt) called us to tell us my partner had given I think it was $100,000 to a very, very close friend of my wife’s parents who they trusted completely to take his side and lie about me and my wife. She felt it was disgusting that he did this and said please don’t back down to her husband (my partner) he has done this to too many people and nobody has stood up to him. My wife asked why would he give away $100,000 to someone. She said it’s cheaper to pay someone $100,000 than pay me $1 or $2 Million. 

He then started intimidating some of my friends to stay away from me or they would get wrapped up in a big lawsuit he was planning. He even sent his secretary to the church I attended to try to destroy my credibility with the senior pastor and attempt to have me thrown out of the church. We even got a phone call at our house that our young daughter answered saying they were going to kill her father (me). 

Then I get a message from him saying he will back off and stop all of it, if I would sign something saying I relinquish all rights to the subdivision.

I can’t begin to explain the emotional trauma this was causing me and my wife. But we both agreed we were not going to back down to him. 

Since my partner continued to sell lots and not pay me, I had an attorney file my contract as a lien on the property to attempt to protect my financial involvement.

A few weeks later he sued me for $2 million for malicious slander of title. That was quickly dropped as a frivolous lawsuit but it cause more stress and money out of pocket for an attorney. 

I had reached a breaking point. I told my wife to take our daughters and go to her parents, I was going to end this. I had picked up the phone to call someone to put an end to this situation and get my money. When I told my wife what I was doing, she ran up to the phone and pulled the cord out of the wall (landline). She grabbed me by the arms and said “David, our battle is not against X (the uncle), our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

She then dropped down to her knees and pulled me down with her and we started praying. I repented for the anger and hatred I had toward the uncle and other family members that were involved with him. I prayed for the uncles salvation and the health and prosperity of the others involved. I gave God all of the pain, suffering and emotional trauma we had been going through and put my faith and trust in him. I prayed that God would turn what satan meant for evil into something good.

My wife suggested we invite her cousin (the uncle’s daughter) to our house for one of our Bible studies. I was very, very, very hesitant, but after praying, I felt really good about it. My wife's cousin accepted the invitation and accepted Jesus as her Savior that evening, over the next few weeks at the Bible studies, my wife's cousin's husband, son (only child) and her brother all accepted Jesus as their Savior. That was all of the uncle's children and grandchildren at that point.

A few months later I got an out of court settlement offer from my partner (uncle). It wasn’t what I wanted, but after praying both my wife and I felt God saying, “you stood up to him and made him pay he will respect that” (which no one else had ever done), “you acted as a true servant and child of mine and he will respect that”. So we accepted the settlement offer.

A few months later my partner (uncle) called me, I really thought he was going to say he changed his mind and wanted his money back. But instead I heard the voice of a humble man. He asked if me and the church put a curse on him, I immediately said no. I said we had been praying for him, for his salvation and his heart. He said he had been in the psychiatric ward at the hospital, had cancer and was filing bankruptcy. I told him I had. He asked what I’ve been doing and how my wife and children were. We talked for a while and before we hung up I asked if I could pray for him. He hesitated and said “No, not YET”. That wasn’t a no, it was a not yet. We talked quite a few times after that, my wife and I invited him to one of our daughters birthday party’s.

Then a few months later my wife’s parents called and said that the uncle had gone to church with his daughter and went to the alter and accepted Jesus as his Savior. 

I can’t help but believe that might not have happened IF I continued to try to be in control and not allow God to be God. 

So when people ask if you can put a price on someone’s Salvation. I don’t think anyone can. So before you complain about  being cheated out of $5,000 or $100,000 or someone betrayed you and it cost you a friend. Remember I UNDERSTAND, I lost out on $1.4 Million and friends and family turned their backs on me and my wife, but an entire family was saved because my wife was spiritually strong enough and discerning enough to intercede with me and lead me to pray and change my heart. 

So PLEASE do NOT allow the bitterness, unforgiveness, or anger get in the way of God’s plan. Start SINCERELY praying for those who hurt you or owe you money. Follow God’s promptings.

Walk by the Spirit, be obedient and follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting and watch what happens.