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.
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.
Subscribe Now for Free Daily Devotions
Recent
Archive
2026
January
When God Feels Silent but is Still at WorkHow to Rebound After a Crushing LetdownWhen Your World Falls Apart After You Did Everything RightGod Is Still Building Roads in the DesertThe Chapter That Comes After TraumaWhen Hope Feels GoneWhen Your Words Start Working Against YouGod’s Resume Is Bigger Than Your SituationWaiting on God is Not Doing NothingBefore Circumstances ChangeGetting In Your Bag When Life Feels UnfairWinning With a Bad HandOverlooked, Insulted, and Still ChosenPrepared in the Field Before the Giant AppearsYou Were Trained for This MomentTaking Off Armor That Does Not FitFormed in the Field, Not on the StageWhen the Battle Is Not Actually YoursWhen You Feel the Urge to Go Through God’s PhoneFaith After Disappointment Still CountsKeep Showing Up Even When You Are ConfusedLocked Doors Do Not Stop JesusWhen You Need an Encounter for YourselfDoubt as a DoorwaySaying What Hurts When God Is in the RoomWhere Faith and Fear CollideShutdown Does Not Mean FinishedWhen Opposition Shows Up Mid-ProgressBuilding Without Responding to the MockeryA Mind to Work in the Middle of Weariness
2025
January
Plenty of RoomThankful for Your SeatWho God Invites to the TableThat’s the PointWe Do Not Have a Monopoly on GodStop Talking So LoudLet God Handle the Guest ListA Long-Awaited ReunionSeeing Jesus for YourselfIn Possession of a Personal PromiseGet in the Right PositionReady to ReceiveAligning Your Life for God's PromiseWaiting with ExpectancyGrounded in PrayerStrength in PrayerPatience Through PrayerStay Focused Through PrayerGod's Conditional PromisesGod’s PriorityGrounded in FaithTrusting God's TimingThe Assurance of God's PromisesIs It Well With Your Soul?Health vs. HealingStewarding Your BodyA Holistic View of SpiritualityGod Cares About Your BodyWhat You Put in MattersNourishing Your SoulThe Power of Prevention
February
The Power of a ComebackHealing from the PastStop Blaming and Start TrustingBury the Past to Claim the FutureFacing Trauma with TruthCelebrate That You SurvivedRepair What is BrokenNothing God Can’t FixDon’t Swing at Bad PitchesStick to God’s PlanDon’t Let Desperation Drive YouShift Your WeightWho Knows Best?A Good Idea Isn’t Always a God IdeaPeace in God’s PlanFinding Purpose in God’s PlanProsperity in God’s PlanTrusting God’s Plan, Pace, and ProcessKnowing When to PivotGod Hasn’t Given Up on YouNext-Level Faith Requires PerseveranceA New Revelation of GodIt’s Not All About YouNext-Level ConnectionsNext-Level CommitmentA Prayer That Moves GodPrayers That Carry a BurdenPray With Boldness
No Comments