Forgive Everything!

Friend, I know the pain sits deeply in your chest, in your core, and sometimes you can feel it wrapping around your heart, squeezing the tears out of you. Or maybe you feel your tear drops roll into the abyss, never to be seen by anyone, not even you. These are the fruits of the hardest hurts to forgive. With the deepest compassion, I’m truly sorry. But I love you enough to tell you that no matter what was done to you, you have to forgive everything, and it is urgent that you do it now!

I know I wasn’t there to experience what hurt you, I didn’t feel what you felt when your soul was shattered, I don’t understand the layers to the betrayal, nor did I witness how you were misused by those who should have been protecting you.

But I do know someone Who does.  Jesus understands, and He felt the torment of these pains too. (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus gave us the best example of forgiveness as He hung in pain and agony on the cross. He had already been beaten until His flesh fell off, spat on, humiliated, abandoned, and betrayed by those He had spent the last three years pouring into.

And in the pinnacle of His pain, He pleaded, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Christ showed us that it is possible to forgive even while still experiencing the pain of what hurt us.

How to Forgive the Deepest Hurts

With Christ as our model, this is how you forgive:

You choose to forgive by faith with a simple prayer to our heavenly Father.

Pray this aloud:

“Father, I forgive (the person’s name). And I release them into the freedom of my forgiveness. Lord, I invite You into my heart to begin and complete this work of forgiveness.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

You may still feel angry, hurt, and in pain at that moment. But the moment you pray, you activate the faith that God responds to (Matthew 21:22).

Your surrender allows the Holy Spirit to minister to you, heal you, fortify, rebuild, and restore you. Forgiveness is an act of faith, meaning that it doesn’t have to feel complete the very moment we decide to forgive. Instead, we commit ourselves to the confident hope that one day, there will be evidence that our forgiveness is complete (Hebrews 11:1).

Why Is it Urgent to Forgive?

Because no one knows the time or the hour when Christ will return (Matthew 24:36). But He is coming very soon, and we must be prepared.

If we have not forgiven, we will not be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15). And what sorrow it will be to stand before God without our sins forgiven (Matthew 18:34-35).

This warning to forgive is because God wants us to be in right standing with Him—because of His love for us (1 John 4:7-8).

Forgiveness is a journey, and the first step is saying, “I release them into the freedom of my forgiveness.” If God commands us to do something, He is responsible for helping to bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. – Philippians 1:6

Imagine yourself living without the pain of the memory and in the freedom that Christ redeemed for you on the cross. Forgive by faith! The evidence is coming.