I’ve been learning over the years to release people from debts. To forgive, means to say in my heart to myself and to the person who has offended or neglected me, “You owe me nothing.”

When I release people from debt… whether it’s the debt of an apology, of respect, of time, of money. whatever it is… it detaches me from that person and frees me from depending on them to fulfill my needs and heal my wounds. Likely, they cannot fulfill my needs and heal my wounds in the first place, thus why they sinned against me. It doesn’t mean that there is nothing they can do or that they never can do anything for me. It just means, they are not obligated by my pressure.

When I forgive people of their debts, it frees me to be able to go to God and ask him to fill me up in the places where I’ve been neglected and/or hurt. It gives God the chance to fulfill me in his own way, in the most unlikely of ways and probably using the most unlikely of people, in order to give me his best for me. God is able and willing and loves to fill me in the places where I lack or am injured.

In one way or another, he fills me and provides for me. He might do it immediately, or most times, it will take time and it will be a process. And, he may do it through bringing someone into my life, or through giving me guidance and showing me people I ought to reach out to for help, or through some other means, such as reading a book, listening to something, or leading me in how to, or to give me boldness to, do a particular thing.

When I free others from debts, God frees me from debts – I owe him and others nothing, and I can pray, again, and ask and believe God to heal and fill others in the places where I’ve neglected or injured them. And yes, God may have me to pay what I owe and used me to heal and fill, but he may also use another means. I have to keep my spirit open to hear his voice and obey him if he asks me to fix the debt.

Freeing others from debt and being free from debt helps me to be able to pay, as someone who is loved by God by faith in Jesus Christ, the unending debt of love (as expressed in Romans 13:8) to all people, including my debtors.