The Healing Power of Forgiveness

• By candidasullivan
• January 10, 2025
• No Comments

Forgiveness is powerful. It heals us and gives us the power to stop our own pain. But sometimes, we would rather hold onto the pain. We view our pain as a badge of honor and feel it justifies our experience. Only it doesn’t. It just hurts us more.

Recently, I had something that hurt me terribly. All I could do was cry. I wanted to be angry. I picked at the hurt and allowed it to grow. The more I thought about it, the bigger it got until it felt as if the pain was crushing me.

I knew I could turn my thoughts and heart toward love and forgiveness and stop my pain, or I could allow it to continue to hurt me and cause me misery.

Yes, someone hurt me. No, I didn’t deserve it. It was wrong, and it shouldn’t have happened, but it did. While I couldn’t prevent it from happening to me, I realized as the tears raced down my face and my heart ached that I had two choices. I could take all the broken and hurtful pieces and put them at the feet of Jesus. I could ask Him to help me forgive and let go. Or I could hold onto the pain with both hands, and allow it to continue hurting me.

Thankfully, I took it to Jesus. As soon as my heart became willing, God offered me the beautiful gift of forgiveness. The blood of Jesus was the elixir for my pain. It covered each crack and ache in my heart.

So many times, I have rushed over the wonder of forgiveness. I’ve stubbornly refused to give it to others but greatly desired it. Sin is one of those tricky things; it attacks us all. At some point, we have all failed and come short. We’ve all needed a good, healthy dose of it.

Therefore, I like to view it as something that heals. Forgiveness does not excuse someone’s behavior or the harm inflicted, but it can heal it.

Can you think of one good reason to hold onto the pain and hurt any longer? If you’re unsure, ask God to help you see things from His perspective.

Whether or not we choose forgiveness has nothing to do with the other person. It is a gift we give to ourselves. Let God take your pain and replace it with love and peace. Allow it to soothe you and heal you.

God will take care of the vengeance, if needed, on our behalf. We have to trust Him to care for us in the best way possible. Nothing is beyond Him. God sees it all. Therefore, we can let go and rest assured that God will take care of it.