Have you found yourself pretending to be fine, yet deep down you’re feeling buried underneath the weight of unforgiveness? Whether you’re harboring unforgiveness against someone else or even yourself, I’m here to tell you healing and freedom is possible and it’s available for you. Join me on this six-day journey as we discover keys from God’s Word to empower us to walk in extraordinary forgiveness!Steve Robinson
Day 1
Scriptures: Matthew 6:15, Matthew 18:21-22
Unlimited?!
On the surface, today’s guiding verse can be challenging to understand. The thought that God might not forgive some of our sins is quite unnerving.
Thankfully, the Apostle Peter’s interaction with Jesus in Matthew 18 helps us understand the heart of forgiveness. In his humanity, Peter posed the question to Jesus most of us would probably be too afraid to ask. “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” Peter wondered the same thing we all do from time to time: Lord, how long do I have to keep putting up with this person?
Peter thought for sure Jesus would let him off the hook because, surely, there must be a limit to how many times someone should forgive others. To Peter’s surprise, Jesus answered the question with a big number: “seventy times seven.” In the Hebrew language, the number 490 represents something complete or perfect. It also gives us a picture of something being infinite. In other words, Jesus said Peter’s forgiveness should be infinite in nature. Unlimited! Just as God’s forgiveness toward us is unlimited, Peter was admonished to do the same.
God is serious about forgiveness. Refusing to forgive someone who has hurt us negatively impacts our relationship with them and, more importantly, obstructs our relationship with God. Let’s choose to forgive others quickly and completely and remove what hinders our connection to others and to God.
As you engage with God’s word:
● What is God saying to you?
● What does it mean to you?
● What action step do you need to take?
After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer.
Day 2
Scriptures: Luke 6:28, Romans 2:4
Forgiveness In Action
The greatest example of forgiveness in action is Jesus Christ. Throughout His life, He was rejected over and over again. The religious leaders of His day hated Him. His family didn’t believe in Him. His friends turned their backs on Him in His greatest time of need, and one of them even betrayed Him at the highest level! At the end of His earthly ministry, the crowds turned against Him and called for His execution. As He hung on the cross between two criminals, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
When the hurts in life go beyond what we think we can bear, how do we survive the pain? How do we forgive? How do we begin to heal when we’ve been hurt? We can follow the example of Jesus and PRAY!
Here are three things we can pray for the people who have hurt us:
- Pray God heals their pain. If they have hurt other people, more than likely, they are hurting inside. Ask God to bring healing into their life.
- Pray God forgives them. Pray they will turn from their sin, repent, and find forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
- Pray God blesses them. Pray for them to experience the goodness of God to lead them to repentance.
As you pray for others, God will begin to do a work of healing and forgiveness in your own heart.
As you engage with God’s Word:
● What is God saying to you?
● What does it mean to you?
● What action step do you need to take?
After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer.
Day 3
Scriptures: Hebrews 12:2, Colossians 3:13
Perspective Shift
Surprisingly, those we love the most often hurt us the most. In Scripture, we read how just five days before His crucifixion, Jesus gloriously entered the city of Jerusalem riding a donkey and the crowd worshiping Him. The streets were lined with people laying down palm branches heralding the King of the Jews. Even the disciples vowed to follow Him regardless of the cost. However, in Jesus’ most painful moment, those closest to Him turned away as the Romans brutally beat and crucified Him.
How did Jesus find it in His heart to forgive? He did it by looking at His pain from a different perspective. Hebrews 12:2 tells us Jesus endured the cross because of what He knew was waiting on the other side. Instead of the hurt and betrayal He experienced, Jesus focused on the redemption He knew His death would purchase for us.
Colossians 3:13 tells us we must forgive as Christ forgave us. We will all experience hurt and disappointment in life. Offense will come at the hands of an enemy or a friend—but it is going to come. If we think back on the times God forgave us when we hurt and sinned against Him or someone else, it is much easier for us to forgive those who sin against us. Instead of holding onto offense, focus on how Christ has forgiven you. Choose to forgive the way Christ has forgiven you.
Instead of becoming bitter, look at what is on the other side—good news! God is going to bring healing and draw you closer to Him on the other side of your hurt.
As you engage with God’s word:
● What is God saying to you?
● What does it mean to you?
● What action step do you need to take?
After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer.
Day 4
Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:22-23
God’s Not Done!
Many of us carry pain from the sins and failures of our past. Maybe our failings happened a week ago, a month ago, or decades ago, but we still carry regret around as if it happened yesterday. It’s often harder for us to forgive ourselves than forgive someone else.
David, the King of Israel, initiated an adulterous affair with a woman named Bathsheba. She became pregnant while her husband, Uriah, was away from home serving in the army. After a failed attempt at bringing Uriah home to cover David’s sin, David put Uriah out on the front line of battle where he was killed.
In the course of time, Bathsheba delivered David’s baby, but the child was very sick. David repented, fasted, and prayed day and night for God to spare his son’s life, but on the seventh day, David received the tragic news his child had died.
Upon receiving the news of his son’s death, David did something seemingly odd. He immediately got up, washed himself, changed his clothes, then went to the Tabernacle and worshipped the Lord. Why did he do that? David understood nothing can change the past. We can mourn for a season, which is right, appropriate, and necessary. Yet, once we repent of our sins and ask God for forgiveness, we must learn to accept what cannot be changed and move forward in life. God isn’t finished with us yet!
As you engage with God’s word:
● What is God saying to you?
● What does it mean to you?
● What action step do you need to take?
After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer.
Day 5
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:9-11
Where Are You Turning?
In today’s verse, we read about two kinds of sorrow. The first is godly sorrow, which expresses itself in statements like, “God, I’m sorry I’ve hurt you and other people.”This kind of sorrow leads to repentance and salvation and leaves us without regret. The other kind of sorrow—worldly sorrow—is the kind many people carry with them. Worldly sorrow selfishly says, “I’m sorry I did this because of how it is affecting me.” This type of sorrow leads to death in our spiritual lives and in our relationships.
Whether it is our own wrongdoing or someone else’s, it is important we learn how to turn worldly sorrow into forgiveness and repentance. When we do this, we free ourselves from the pain of the past.
There are three places we can turn our pain and sorrow:
- We can turn it INWARD. When we turn inward, we blame ourselves for our pain and remain trapped in self-pity.
- We can turn it OUTWARD. When we turn outward, we look for others to “heal” us from our pain, but this leaves us always needing more.
- We can turn it UPWARD. God alone is the source of strength and peace during times of sorrow. In His presence, we can find the help, comfort, and forgiveness we need to finally let go of the past.
Who do you need to forgive? Is it a friend, a parent, a spouse, or a co-worker? Or, is today the day you are finally ready to forgive yourself?
As you engage with God’s word:
● What is God saying to you?
● What does it mean to you?
● What action step do you need to take?
After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer.
Day 6
Scriptures: Isaiah 43:18-19, Colossians 1:13-14
Time to Move Forward
Our spiritual enemy, the devil, nudges us to gaze into the rearview mirror of our lives. He wants us to reflect on the pain and offense in our past. He is out to keep us jaded and embittered. Though we’ve been hurt by others, God’s plan and purpose for us is yet to be fulfilled. We cannot stop pursuing God and His plan because of an offense.
The key to experiencing the new life God has for us is to focus on what He has given us, not the losses we have experienced.
The problem is—we tend to remember the things we should forget and forget the things we should remember. We often focus on the things in our past where God would look and say, “I forgave that years ago, please forgive yourself and move forward.”
We all fail at some point in our lives. Maybe the pain and loss you experienced will never go away completely. While we cannot change the past, we can be certain God has something new for us in our present and future.
Let go of your past and focus on the great future God has for you. Pray and ask God what He wants to do through you from this day forward. If you allow Him to redeem and restore you, God can bring redemption and a fresh start into your life today.
As you engage with God’s word:
● What is God saying to you?
● What does it mean to you?
● What action step do you need to take?