August 20, 2026
Forgiving what You Can’t Forget
It can take years to become good at forgiving others. It is worth the effort. Forgiveness blesses the forgiver and the forgiven. When we refuse to forgive, when we replay every offense, we put our immaturity, rebellion and ego on display. Forgiveness is good for our health. When we operate in revenge and bitterness, we spend hours thinking of words we should have said, things we might do to get even, and things we might tell others. Those wounds to our soul never heal. But when we forgive, we rise above what hurt us. The wounds become old memories versus daily torment. Walking with God’s promises, holding His hand as we move through forgiveness is like finding where the sunshine lives and the place where happiness is found.
Trust God! He is bigger than any situation or individual who causes us pain or harm. Every wrong, every hurt, every painful experience adds another crayon to the box of our lives. No one wants or needs just pastels. We need black! We need raging red! We need the colors of a storm. Then, when we go to serve God’s hurting people we are armed with understanding and experience. With our own Crayon box full, we have true value for others!
I focus daily on forgiving every hurt and offense I have foolishly picked up at some point in my life. God has shown me forgiveness feels better than revenge could ever feel. And it heals the wounds we’ve encountered throughout our lives. The church is not immune to the damages done through misunderstandings, arguments, and cliques. Humans can be fragile. If there was ever a place we should practice forgiveness and love, let it be in the church.
Lord, I am sorry for the years I spent keeping score in my life. None of those things matter. Love covers offense. Love heals broken hearts. Love refuses to make an emotion or a thing more valuable than a relationship. Our culture is in an argumentative place right now, Lord. People are so focused on their own issues and feelings they try to control other people’s thoughts or words. It is a passing phase, Lord. I pray Your tender mercies will wipe away the kind of self-obsessed behavior that makes people control their family and friend’s thinking. We create our own safety, Lord, or we hide in the shelter of Your wings. Keep us safe, I pray, until this obsession ends.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[a] Matthew 18:21-23