Healing Hurt From a Broken HeartSample

Day 6: Why Forgive? Freedom

One reason I believe God commands us to forgive is to free us. When we forgive those who wronged us in any way, we take away their power over us. Their words and actions no longer carry the weight they once did. Their voice or mere presence no longer makes us sick to our stomachs. We don’t cry or go into a rage every time we hear their voices. We are free. We are free to move on with our lives with or without them, if that is God’s will. However, we are not bound by what they did to us.

The Bible doesn’t talk about how Esau came to forgive his brother Jacob (read the previous chapters to find out how Jacob betrayed Esau). However, in today’s scripture, they see each other for the first time in many years. The last time Esau saw Jacob, he vowed to kill him for what he did (Genesis 27:41); but somewhere along Esau’s journey in life, he needed to be free from the bondage of his unforgiveness. If he wanted to move forward with his life, he knew he had to forgive his brother for the horrible thing he did.

When Jacob saw Esau, he didn’t know what to expect because he knew he had done a terrible thing to his brother, so Jacob just bowed in Esau’s presence. But because Esau had forgiven Jacob, he was able to embrace his brother when he saw him and make peace with him.

I never thought I would get to this place when I first entered the wilderness of heartbreak. After the initial shock of it all, I really wanted to move on, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how big of a part forgiveness would play in me moving forward. I don’t think the guy was trying to keep me in bondage at all. He had no clue what was going on with me because we didn’t talk and we didn’t have mutual friends. Therefore, I was keeping myself from the freedom I desired. I didn’t know how to forgive someone who hurt me so deeply and didn’t afford me the closure I thought I deserved....but God!

My forgiveness was not a one-time thing. I had to forgive him regularly until it stuck, but every time I chose to forgive, I got a little piece of myself back. Set yourself free today and start taking steps towards forgiveness.

Declare: I know how essential forgiveness is for me to move forward. I forgive _________. His actions and words will no longer keep me in bondage. I gain a little more freedom each day that I choose forgiveness.