“ When an impure spirit comes out of a person , it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it . Then it says , ‘ I will return to the house I left .’ When it arrives , it finds the house unoccupied , swept clean and put in order ” ( Matthew 12:43-44 ).
The Wall Of Unforgiveness
By Julie B . Cosgrove
I
watched someone close to me harbor an unforgiving spirit in their heart for decades . Slowly , it morphed them into a negative , depressed and bitter person . The long-standing anger and hurt produced tangled briers that dug deeply into their thoughts and their heart . They questioned anyone ’ s sincerity , thought themselves as unlovable , and jumped to the worse conclusion about people , including me .
That person was my late husband and his unforgiving attitude was toward his mother ’ s rejection of his life choices when he was in his twenties . She said and did some horrid things , agreed . But his anger and hurt not only barred any reconciliation , it slowly locked out anyone else . When she passed , his bitterness no longer had a harbor . Like a phantom in a horror film , it hunted for someplace else to live . Unfortunately , it landed on me and penetrated our marriage for the next five years . Jesus spoke of this phenomenon as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew .
“ When an impure spirit comes out of a person , it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it . Then it says , ‘ I will return to the house I left .’ When it arrives , it finds the house unoccupied , swept clean and put in order ” ( Matthew 12:43-44 ).