The Choice And Challenge Of Forgiving

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Luke 6:37

It’s easier to forgive others when their offense is simple or short-lived. It’s easier to forgive someone when they ask for forgiveness—especially if we love them or recognize they are immature and didn’t realize how they were hurting us. But to forgive someone who will never ask, who doesn’t care, who has wounded us in a deeply damaging way—that’s always much harder.

Genuine forgiveness of someone who has hurt you deeply can be a long, slow, difficult process. I traveled many valleys and revisited a lot of pain in order to grant unsolicited forgiveness to my abusers, to be free from my past and free for the future God had for me.

You may be on that same kind of journey. If so, let me remind you that Jesus is on your side and by your side each step of the way. His Spirit will guide you and reveal to you what you need to know and are able to address. If the effort is overwhelming, I encourage you to get support from a Christian counselor who can facilitate God’s healing process. Stay close to your Father God, and He will lead you through.

I know I need to forgive, Lord. You want me to know freedom. Help me, I pray. Show me how to forgive those who have hurt me.