…forgive any complaint you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

“I’ll never forgive him.” “If you knew how she’s treated me, you’d understand why I can’t forgive her.” Wounds. Scars. Bruises on the heart. We’ve all got them. It’s impossible to navigate through life without someone hurting us. Sometimes the hurt goes so deep we cannot imagine ever being free of it. But it is empowering to realize that, while we may not have had a choice in being hurt, we have power to choose whether or not to live in hurt. Someone else wounded us, but we decide whether or not to continue letting it control us. Forgiveness does NOT let someone else off the hook; forgiveness lets ourselves off the hook.

Unforgiven hurts become scars and scars become callouses. A calloused heart is useless to God because it is too hard and unyielding to work with. Calloused hearts are spiritually cold. We may be angry at our spouse, a sibling, or a rebellious child, but that hardness affects every other relationship too. When we’re wearing dark glasses, every room we enter seems dark. We would swear that the lights are off, when in reality, we’re the problem. Unforgiveness affects us like that. It darkens our outlook and we become offended at every little thing. Forgiveness releases our hurts to God and trusts Him with the outcome.

Final Thought:  Think of someone who has hurt you and never made it right. Consider offering that hurt to God and letting go.

Prayer: Father, you know I have been hurt by _______. They’re not even sorry, at least enough to convince me. I have a right to be angry, but it is hurting me. I lift it up now and choose to forgive. I trust you to make things right. In Jesus name, Amen.