Overcoming UnforgivenessParaugs

Freedom By Forgiveness

Ring-tailed monkeys are hard to catch, unless you know the trick Zulu hunters use to trap them. What these hunters do is carve a hole into a melon. The hole is just small enough for a monkey’s hand to reach inside. This becomes the trap, and once it’s laid, the monkey will put its hand into the hole, reach inside, and grab a fistful of its flesh and seeds. With the monkey’s fist full of food, and now much larger in size than the open hand that reached in, the monkey is “stuck.” It’s stuck because the monkey will typically not let go of what it has gotten hold of inside the melon. Instead, the monkey will just pull, screech, and fight the melon in a vain effort to free itself. Meanwhile, the hunter is ready to sneak up behind the distracted monkey and grab him.

Unforgiveness lays a similar trap for us. Like the ring-tailed monkeys, we hold on tight to past hurts and offenses. And because we cannot let go, we’re stuck. Stuck in unforgiveness, bitterness, stress, and anger. We ruminate, lose sleep, and take things out on people around us. We give up our peace and allow our pain to control our thoughts and emotions. But we can be free.

Forgiveness is like opening your hand and letting go of what’s keeping you stuck. When you finally release the hurt and pain, you can be free. You don’t have to wait for the person who sinned against you to apologize. They don’t hold the key to your freedom—you do.

Like I shared on the first day of this devotional, when I held on to unforgiveness towards my father, it became a wall around me. It imprisoned me. Unforgiveness often makes us our own prisoners, but Jesus invites us to be free. He invites us to take the forgiveness we have received through Him and extend it towards others.

Sometimes forgiveness happens in a moment, and sometimes it happens over days, weeks, months, or even years. If you’re still struggling to forgive today, that’s okay. Just continue this journey. Lay down your hurts before your Father. Ask for His help to truly forgive. Trust Him to be the Judge over all the wrong that’s been done to you and to handle it. Begin to let go of what is keeping you bound.

Thought of the Day: Today, I will renew my trust in God as the ultimate Judge, and I will reaffirm my commitment to forgive those who have sinned against me. I’m ready to let go to the things that keep me stuck and to walk in the freedom Christ has for me.

For more help and resources on overcoming emotional and mental health struggles, check out resolutionmovement.org.