Day 4 Devotional – Forgiveness: The Freedom We All Need | Healing Hearts through Forgiveness | Beyond the Hurt: When People Fail Us, God Remains Faithful

I touched on this controversial topic in the devotional teachings on Monday and Tuesday, and callers have touched on it as well. 

We have also had many a devotion on the subject right here on this station.

So where are we on this? Is there still that person we need to forgive? Is there still that situation that we are holding on to, saying: I can forgive everything else, but not this?

How does that make us feel? Questions that need answers.

You know, I have often heard that forgiveness is not about others, but really about our own freedom. 

I am still trying to understand why the emphasis on our freedom, because at first, it sounds almost selfish. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that unforgiveness doesn’t imprison the one who hurt us — it imprisons us. The person who wronged us may have moved on, but we stay bound to the moment of pain. 

So we are called on to think of forgiveness as God’s way of unlocking that door. It’s not saying, “What they did was okay,” but rather, “What they did will no longer have power over me.”

Once we understand that, Family. we would be able to walk in the freedom that forgiveness brings. Amen.

The truth is, we’ve all been hurt, and we’ve all done some hurting as well. 

Some wounds came from people we trusted deeply; others from those we barely knew. Yet whether the pain came through betrayal, harsh words, or neglect, God’s call remains the same: F O R G I V E - forgive.

Jesus said in Mark 11:25, NIV, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins”. 

What we also need to hear and understand is that forgiveness is not a suggestion; it is a spiritual key. It unlocks peace where bitterness once lived.

In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus said we should ask God to forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us.  

Why? Because bitterness keeps score and forgiveness releases the debt. 

Ephesians 4:32, AMP says, “Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you”.

Sometimes we say, “I forgive.” But do we really?

True forgiveness shows in what happens afterward — in our words, our attitudes, and our prayers. 

Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, NKJV, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you”. 

That’s where forgiveness is tested — not in what we say, but in how we respond.

It’s easy to speak forgiveness while still rehearsing and reliving, and dwelling on the hurt. 

But when we can wish someone well, even after they’ve wronged us, that’s when grace has done its work in our hearts. 

Matthew 6:14, NLT - “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you”. 

Family, I say again, forgiveness isn’t proven by words; it’s proven by love that refuses to retaliate.

One of the clearest examples of forgiveness in the Bible is when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, as stones rained down on him, he looked toward heaven and said, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60, NKJV). 

Forgiveness, in its purest form, Family, releases even those who never ask for it or never admit they did anything wrong. 

Stephen’s final words echo the heart of Jesus Himself: mercy in the midst of pain.

Some people may think that forgiveness is weakness. And that’s why some people go around urging others not to forgive that person for what they did. May the Lord open our eyes to what the Spirit of the Lord is teaching us today.

Forgiveness is tough, it is hard, but it is strength under control. It’s choosing to reflect God’s nature instead of our wounds. 

As Proverbs 19:11 (NIV) reminds us, “It is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

Joseph had every reason to stay angry at his brothers for selling him into slavery. Yet when he saw them years later, he said, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20, NKJV). 

Can anybody say like Joseph this morning? 

I hear the yeses.

Now this question. Like Joseph, will we choose to let go? 

See, that’s the freedom we talk about that comes from forgiveness. Amen?! 

LET IT GO!

There will always be a weight on our shoulders if we hold on to unforgiveness.

While forgiveness doesn’t always result in reconciliation, I believe we should reach for that goal, in honour of the model that Jesus gave in Luke 23:34 (NKJV) when he was being crucified: “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’”.

I cannot be here ministering to you if I have ought against someone. So I have to clean up, shape up, get it together. And so must you.

Matthew 5:23–24 (NLT) reminds us: “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”.

 We all want our hearts to be right with God, don’t we?

Let’s get rid of the poison of unforgiveness today, lay the offenses before God, saying, “This is too heavy for me to carry — I give it to You.”

And catch this, Family, when we release others, something miraculous happens: we find ourselves released too. 

Jesus teaches in Luke 6:37-38, NLT, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you”. Forgiveness multiplies peace.

Family, healing begins when we stop replaying the pain and start reflecting God’s mercy. 

We may never forget what was done, but we can remember how far grace has brought us. When we forgive, we resemble our Father — free, restored, and whole.