by Hazel Straub
Forgiveness means releasing the resentment, bitterness, blame, hostility, hatred, anger and fear that you have towards someone who has transgressed against you or even against yourself. It also means to cancel the need to punish the offender. Releasing the offender from your judgment, allows God to deal with the offender. Forgiving yourself for your mistakes, gets rid of self condemnation and allows you to receive all the blessings God has for you! Forgiveness is an act of the will, not an emotion.
When we do not forgive, however, we rehearse the wrongs and dwell in the poison, we intend for others. Often, when we haven’t forgiven, we engage in negative thoughts and emotions and relive the trauma, without any resolution. Unforgiveness adds high stress to one’s body and mind that opens one up for chronic physical disease or mental torment and mental illness. The cost of unforgiveness is extremely costly to one’s self.
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, our sins are forgiven. In order to receive forgiveness, however, we need to cancel the debt owed us, by others. If we do not release the offender, we stew in our own bitterness and anger that we want the offender to drink. This bitter root grows and effects not only the one living, as a victim but also those in relationship with them. (“…lest any root of bitterness spring up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” Hebrews 12:15)
Jesus told a parable about a king in Matthew 18:23-25 who had a servant who owed him millions of dollars and couldn’t repay the debt. The servant asked for mercy and the king had compassion and cancelled the debt. Then the servant went to a fellow servant and demanded payment for a lessor debt of a few dollars and refused to have mercy and threw him in prison until the debt was paid. When the king learned of this, he threw the unforgiving servant in prison and delivered him to the tormentors. Jesus said we would have the same treatment, if we did not forgive others from our heart. When we forgive, we become victorious with no place for the enemy to steal, destroy and kill us. Our prayers reach God unhindered and we can enjoy living, without the regret and shame of reliving the past and never healing.
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Pure Glory 
So important to forgive as the Lord has forgiven us 🙏🏼
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By: LightWriters on 02/02/2026
at 6:00 am
Yes, it is important to forgive. Unforgiveness opens us up to bitterness and disease.
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By: Pure Glory on 02/02/2026
at 10:42 am
Amen! Have mercy on me, Father in Jesus name.
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By: spiritualenlightenments on 02/02/2026
at 7:43 am
God provides mercy as we choose to forgive.
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By: Pure Glory on 02/02/2026
at 10:43 am
It hard to forgive when you given all you have and when you can’t give no more, you get thrown away like trash. That’s why I ask God to have mercy on me and give me a heart that continue to Love and Forgive. I pray that everyday. I also repeat for the way I think if it is not in God will. Thank you for those words of wisdom. Amen❤
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By: spiritualenlightenments on 02/02/2026
at 2:42 pm
Yes God’s love helps us love and forgive. Matthew 6:14 says,
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,” Forgive means to let the offense go and consider the debt paid. Bitterness and grudge holding harms the person holding on to offense because it is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will be harmed. One of Jesus last words on the cross was, Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do. This allows God to deal with the heart and not to be stuck in the offense, reliving it. Forgiveness frees us from toxic thoughts and brings us freedom.
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By: Pure Glory on 02/02/2026
at 5:11 pm
Oh true. The bricks on your shoulders are dissolved.
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By: rochellesblessings on 02/02/2026
at 9:58 am
Yes, forgiveness allows us to live and receive forgiveness from God.
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By: Pure Glory on 02/02/2026
at 10:44 am
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, not an emotion.” Good point. Enjoyed and needed these words. Thanks, Hazel
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By: heavenlyraindrops on 02/02/2026
at 7:15 pm
You’re welcome, Sue!
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By: Pure Glory on 02/02/2026
at 9:52 pm
I was having a conversation with someone yesterday, and she mentioned this story as well. It really puts things into perspective and is humbling. If Jesus can forgive us, who are we not to forgive others?
Even with that truth, I’ve been struggling with forgiveness. She shared an analogy that helped me think about it differently: “If someone stabbed you in the leg, forgiveness wouldn’t mean pretending it didn’t happen or refusing medical care. Forgiveness would be choosing not to press charges and to instead give it to God. Healing would still be necessary: stitches, antibiotics, time…” Forgiving, in this sense, is letting go of the anger and the desire to punish.
What I continue to reflect on is this: what if the person who caused the harm is someone you’re trying to reconcile with? You don’t want to keep getting stabbed in the leg, metaphorically speaking. Forgiveness doesn’t mean allowing the harm to continue, yet resolving that tension isn’t always clear, especially when issues have built up over time and gone unacknowledged or weren’t apologized for. How do you address what’s unhealthy without keeping a record of wrongs, particularly if the other person doesn’t recognize there’s a problem or gets upset at you for seeing it as a problem? And how do you forgive once resentment has taken root? It’s a difficult thing to wrestle with.
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By: French Pressed on 02/03/2026
at 12:15 pm
The Biblical definition of forgiveness is letting the offense go. Give it to God and don’t wallow in it. Consider it paid in full. Then you do not swim in the toxins of the past and hurt yourself with the poison of meditating on the hurt. When you decide to forgive you let it go and do not constantly relive it. The situation is in God’s hands, to deal with the offender. The offended can then live their life. In the Bible, Saul a young man, part of the Pharisees that ruled in matters of the Jews. He was holding the coats of the men that stoned to death Stephen the first Christian martyr. Stephen prayed as he was being killed and asked God not to hold this against the one’s killing him. This prayer included Saul of Tarsus who acted as a terrorist, seizing Christians in their homes, dragging them to prison and having them killed. This reign of terror took Saul out of his country of Judah to a foreign country of Syria. He was going to Damascus to kill the Christians. Based on the forgiveness of the Christians, who were killed and even the prayer of Stephen, Saul, on the way to persecute and kill more Christians, in Damascus, had an encounter with Jesus. The forgiveness prayers allowed Jesus to deal with Saul. Jesus appeared to Saul who saw a great light. Jesus asked him, why Saul was persecuting him. Saul didn’t know who was talking with him. You can read about this in Acts 8. Saul was blinded and had to be led into Damascus. Then a Christian man was told to go to the place where Saul was staying, lay hands on Saul, so he could receive his sight, accept Jesus as Lord and get baptized. Ananias did not want to go but was obedient and went. Saul became transformed and became the writer of about a third of the New Testament, and brought the gospel of Jesus to many people in Asia and Europe. He is known as Paul. He did suffer much for Jesus. All of this was possible because Stephen forgave and gave it to the Lord. This opened the way for God to deal with him and transform his life.
Stephen did not deserve death or execution by stoning and it was illegal. Yet he forgave and opened the way for the transformation of a terrorist to a church planter in many places including Rome. The gospel went to common people and kings and Caesar.
The Christians at the time, were terrified of Saul and saw him have many of their number killed. But they let it go and gave it to God. A life was transformed and many people were transformed by the good news of salvation through Jesus. Forgiveness is a decision and does not keep track of all the wrongs. Jesus told Peter to forgive seventy times seven. The Christians were not living with Saul but they gave him to God and forgave.
If you are being harmed by someone, let the offense go and leave. Quit rehearsing all the wrongs done to you and let them go, sending away the offenses. Forgiveness releases the offended from living with toxic emotions that can lead to many diseases. Jesus said to forgive so we can receive forgiveness. We all need forgiveness for times we offend others. Give forgiveness and God gives it to you. Resentment and bitterness leads to a hard heart and then one treats others poorly. When you brood on another’s offenses towards you, there is judgment towards that person. Then you find yourself acting the same way that the offender treated you. Resentment and bitterness opens one up to the tormentors or demons that make it hard to rest. It is not about right or wrong but about choosing to let the offense go, so you do not wallow in it and have a pity party. Coming in the opposite spirit of not forgiving, but in God’s love, will change the atmosphere. It is important to read the Bible about forgiveness and ask God for wisdom on what to do.
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By: Pure Glory on 02/04/2026
at 1:05 am
Beautiful reminder for all, Hazel!
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By: peggywritesblog on 02/03/2026
at 12:55 pm
Thank you, Peggy! Blessings of forgiveness.
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By: Pure Glory on 02/04/2026
at 1:06 am
Thank you, Hazel! 🙏
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By: peggywritesblog on 02/04/2026
at 1:51 pm
You’re welcome Peggy!
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By: Pure Glory on 02/04/2026
at 2:32 pm