How to Forgive When It Seems Impossible Sample

They Do Not Deserve It

It is true that when people do bad things that hurt others they do not deserve to be forgiven. 

Forgiveness does not seem to make any sense. It especially does not make sense when we are hurting because of what others have done to us. A sense of injustice rises up from within and shouts, “It’s not fair!”

Forgiveness does not make sense—until we understand that forgiveness is always an act of love and never an act of justice. It is important that we understand the difference between forgiveness and justice.

None of us deserves such generous treatment. We do not deserve to be forgiven for anything we have done. Forgiveness is only possible because God is a God of love. Jesus paid the price willingly, thus ensuring that in the courts of heaven justice had been done.

Ultimately, we are all guilty of the same crime—rebellion against a holy God. We have all landed in the same jail. Or to use a different analogy, we are all in the same boat. Yes, some people may do things that are much worse than others, but the spiritual and eternal consequences are just the same.

It may be true that the people who have really hurt us have sinned against us to a much greater degree than we could ever have done to them. But that does not minimize the effect that sin has internally on us.

As a result of our unforgiveness, the offense we have already suffered continues to grow daily to the point that it becomes all consuming. Our true selves become lost in a sea of resentment that can lead to years of negative emotional, psychological, and even physical conditions.

If you want to be free from the poison of bitterness and healed of the devastating consequences that unforgiveness can have on your health, your family, and all of your relationships, then you need to make a choice to start forgiving now. Only then will you be able to follow Jesus’s example to pray “Father, forgive them,” which is the most powerful prayer on earth.

When you have reached the place of being able to ask God to forgive those who have hurt you, the chains of bondage will begin to fall away, and you will be able to walk free at last.