Over the past few years, Sulojana and I have been taking healing of the heart quite seriously.

We have gone through an entire “Healing Week” through Restoring The Foundations.

We have gone through several sessions of Sozo ministry each. As a matter of fact, along with a number of people from our congregations, we have taken the required training to be released as Sozo ministers ourselves.

Through all of these prayer ministry sessions, we have learned how to deal with offense swiftly and not give it any room to grow. After all, the last thing we need is a bitter root “to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:15)

Yet, the fact of the matter is that we still take offense…perhaps not as much as we used to at one time, but offense is still not absolutely absent from our system.

I made a statement in church last Sunday that I can honestly say that I do not hold an offense against anyone at all. (You can listen to/download the entire message here.)

The reason I can say this is because I have learned to deal with offense quickly and get it out of my spirit as soon as possible before it has a chance to turn into a bitter root.

However, I still get offended, and that too, sometimes quite swiftly. In other words, I am still quite sensitive to what is being said about me.  

Is this par for the course? Should you just accept the fact that you can never completely be free from receiving/taking offense?

I used to think so, until I was challenged by one of the founders of Sozo, Dawna DaSilva, to realize that we can actually be unoffendable.

Unoffendable? That was quite a stretch to even contemplate.

Yet, when we look at the life of Jesus, we see that even though he had so many opportunities to take offense and respond with hurt, he never did. He was able to respond with love. He freely forgave with no difficulty.

It was as though Jesus was wearing an offense-repellant. When the offense came flying toward him, it simply bounced off him. The offense didn’t even have a chance to enter him and affect his spirit.

But, you protest, that was Jesus. Is it possible for you and me?

Do you recall this promise from Scripture? God says: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26).

As a citizen of the Kingdom, as a recipient of the New Covenant, we realize that God has given us a new heart already. And He has given us Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit in a new heart helps us to become unoffendable. And stay that way.

Now you know why David prayed these words in Psalm 51: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”

As we conclude this week’s focus on experiencing At.One.Ment with one another, let this be your prayer as well.