The Freedom That Comes with Forgiveness

“Bear with one another and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.” - Colossians 3:13
 
Forgiveness is one of the hardest choices you will ever make. Not because the command is unclear, but because the pain is real. When someone hurts you, it feels natural to hold on to the memory, the frustration, or the disappointment. You may think that holding on protects you or keeps the other person accountable. But unforgiveness does not keep you safe. It keeps you bound.
 
Forgiveness is not about pretending the offense never happened. It is not saying that what they did was right. It is not excusing the behavior or ignoring the wound. Forgiveness is about releasing your heart from carrying a weight it was never created to hold. It is choosing freedom over bitterness. It is choosing peace over pressure. It is choosing to let God be the one who handles justice.
 
When you refuse to forgive, something happens inside you. Your joy becomes smaller. Your peace becomes fragile. Your thoughts become tangled with what was done to you. You start carrying the burden of someone else’s actions as if it belongs to you. Forgiveness breaks that pattern. It frees your heart from living under the shadow of someone else’s choices.
 
Think of forgiveness as letting go of a rope you have been pulling on for years. The tighter you grip it, the more it burns. The longer you pull, the more exhausted you become. The moment you release it, your body relaxes. Your hands heal. Your strength returns. That is what happens when you forgive. The circumstances may not change immediately, but something deep within you begins to breathe again.
 
God calls you to forgive because He knows the power it has in your life. He knows that freedom cannot flow through a heart that stays clenched. He knows that healing cannot move where anger is still gripping tightly. When you forgive, you make room for God to restore what was damaged. You make space for your heart to recover. You allow hope to grow where hurt once lived.
 
If there is someone you have struggled to forgive, start by telling God the truth about how you feel. Then ask Him for the strength to release what has been weighing you down. Forgiveness may not erase the memory, but it will free your heart. And freedom is worth choosing every single time.