Finding Freedom Through Forgiveness: Letting Go for Lasting Peace
🍃 One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is that holding onto unforgiveness and resentment doesn’t change the past. It only steals my peace in the present.
For a long time, I thought forgiving someone meant excusing what they did, like letting them off the hook. But the truth? The only person trapped by my unforgiveness was me.
Real freedom came when I realized that forgiveness isn’t about minimizing the offense. It’s about trusting God with the offense, releasing myself from its grip, and stepping into the peace only He can provide.
If you've been betrayed or wounded, I won’t pretend forgiveness is easy. But I will tell you this: forgiveness is essential for living in peace, with God and with the people He brings into your life.
📖 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." — Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
🛠️ So, how do we take steps toward forgiveness when the pain still lingers? In his book Forgive and Forget, Lewis B. Smedes outlines four steps to truly forgiving:
1. Acknowledge the hurt – Don’t minimize it. Be honest about how it affected you.
2. Decide to forgive – It’s a choice, not a feeling. Ask God to help you make that decision.
3. Let go of revenge – Stop replaying the “what ifs” and trust God with justice.
4. Find freedom in release – Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting, but it does mean refusing to be chained to the pain.
💡 “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
🙏 Lord, You see the wounds I carry. You know how hard it is to forgive. But I don’t want to carry this weight anymore. Help me to release the hurt, to trust You with justice, and to walk in the freedom of forgiveness. Heal my heart and fill it with Your presence and peace. Amen.
- Chaplain Ray Huff