The Power of Forgiveness

Proverbs 18:14, “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” 

“The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?” NLT

When our spirit is strong and healthy, we can survive problems and difficulties.  But if our spirit is wounded, we do not have the inner strength to overcome and could be destroyed by problems that others easily handle.

Proverbs 15:13 states that “sorrow of the heart” causes a wounded spirit. Rejection and betrayal are common factors. A person who feels rejected by someone they love or admire or who is betrayed by another whom they have placed trust in will be prone to suffer a wounded spirit. The only way a person with a wounded spirit can be healed is to be willing to forgive their offender and release all bitterness.  

Forgiveness is not easy. It doesn’t come naturally to us. Our natural reaction to being hurt is to retaliate. I’ve heard it said that everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive. This is true. However, forgiveness is the key to healing. 

What does the Bible say? 

Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Mark 11:25 – And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Matthew 6:14-15 – For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Luke 6:37 – “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Colossians 3:13 – Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Matthew 6:12 – And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Our attitude toward forgiveness, while primarily done for our benefit—is meant to release us from the prison cell of anger and bitterness—also significantly impacts those around us.

Examples

Job—God blessed Job only after he prayed for those who spoke wrong against him (Job 42:10). God did not punish Job’s friends as they deserved because Job prayed for and forgave them. 

Joseph—God used Joseph to save an entire nation! But he had to suffer terrible betrayal by his brothers to be put in a position to do so. He had every reason to become bitter, yet we see a powerful example of forgiveness in his story! When his brothers feared he would seek retribution for the wrong they did to him, he instead said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” Genesis 50:20 NLT

Jesus—His example on the cross stands as a powerful reminder to all of us of the importance of forgiveness. The power of the words “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” shows us what true forgiveness looks like. 

Stephen—this is one that I believe is a direct reflection of Jesus’ example on the cross. He saw what Jesus did and modeled the same behavior. Another man was watching that day who took notice and was forever changed by it—Saul, who later became Paul. I believe Stephen’s attitude toward forgiveness while he was stoned directly impacted Saul’s conversion. 

The Impact

From these examples, we can see that our forgiveness impacts us and those around us. Our bitterness when we refuse to forgive also affects them. 

Please take some time for self-reflection today. Think about a relationship in your life where you’ve been hurt. Ask yourself, “Have I truly forgiven this person? If not, what’s holding me back?”

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart” Corrie Ten Boom.