When Someone Has Harmed You

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:14-15 NIV)

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult commands in Scripture because it often feels undeserved

When someone wounds us deeply, our natural response is to hold onto the hurt, replay the offense, and wait for an apology that may never come. Yet forgiveness is not saying that what happened was acceptable. It is choosing to release the debt and leave justice in God’s hands.

Imagine carrying a heavy sack of rocks everywhere you go

Each rock represents a hurt, betrayal, or offense. The longer you carry it, the heavier it becomes. Forgiveness doesn’t excuse the offense; it simply puts the burden down and allows God to carry what you were never meant to bear.

Warning about not forgiving others

“But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6:15 ESV)

Forgive someone who sins against you 490 times

“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matt. 18: 21-22 ESV)

Therefore

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

Remember how much God has forgiven you

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalms 103:10-14 ESV)

Quote

“I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note—torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.” — Henry Ward Beecher