Forgive? I’ll Never Forgive!

On a mental health crisis line many years ago, I was listening
to a woman who’s brother had been killed. She knew who the murderer was; he’d
gotten away with it; and this woman was furious. In fact, she, too, was
considering murder. She knew where this man had fled to, and was talking about
going after him.

She’d called because she couldn’t sleep at 2 am that morning and wanted someone to listen. I
held the receiver away from my ear, saying, yes, I understood why she was
angry…I’d be angry, too…and other understanding phrases.

After half an hour of listening to her increasing rage, I
said, “Maybe you might want to think about forgiving this guy.”

“Forgive? I’ll never forgive!”

I’ll never forget the anguish, rage, and sorrow of her cry.
Forgiveness of sin with life-changing consequences is the hardest decision I
know. And that is exactly what it is. A decision.
If we wait until we feel like
forgiving, we will wait forever.

We can say, “I forgive my father for his emotional
distance.” “I forgive my sister for her self-absorption.” “I forgive my
neighbor for his raucous, late parties.” The emotional battle is yet to be
fought, but the spiritual battle is done when we choose to forgive. God takes
us at our word and strikes out our sin of unforgiveness. If that woman did not
find the power to forgive, she, herself, is still paying the price for her rage. 

Jesus, only you give
the power to forgive. We need your enabling to release the people who have hurt
us deeply. 

2 replies on “Forgive? I’ll Never Forgive!”

  1. Karen,
    Just a year ago I had a decision to make as to forgive or not. A friend of 12 yrs had broken trust and hurt me & my family, I chose to FORGIVE, because I knew I would be the one suffering if I didn’t, People don’t understand by forgiving and letting God take the hurt away its for yourself not the person whom you decide to forgive, Also a question I asked myself was “Who am I Not to forgive, how many times have I made wrong choices and God/Jesus has forgiven me, Could I die tomorrow with all this anger and face God with a pure heart? My answer to myself was NO” for my own sake I forgave my friend we aren’t as close but we talk. God asks us to Forgive, he doesn’t say Forget, He doesn’t say continue to keep going back and being hurt, but he does say Forgive as I have Forgiven you, and move on.
    May Gods Blessings Be with You Always
    Tracy P
    CT-USA
    Tracy, you make excellent points. Thanks!
    Karen

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