The following is a devotion from my message series 10 Steps to Freedom. I hope these devotionals help you experience lasting freedom in Jesus!

STEP FIVE: day 5

Release your hurt through forgiveness

Imagine how weightless, how joyful, how free your life would be if you were able to release the hurt that has built up in your life. Imagine how freeing it would be if your happiness and contentment were no longer held hostage by those who have hurt you in the past. Imagine how different your everyday world would be if you were able to truly forgive yourself and move past your past. Forgiving someone for the hurt, neglect or abuse they caused you is not condoning their behavior. By letting go of the hurt and choosing to forgive, you are moving aside and making room for God’s wrath. God has been and always will be a better avenger than you, but you have to step out of the way first and release your hurt through forgiveness.

How do you know you’ve truly forgiven someone? What does it look like? Forgiveness has happened when you can honestly say: they don’t owe me anything anymore. When you can say, She doesn’t owe me my childhood anymore. He doesn’t owe me my innocence anymore. He or she doesn’t owe me anything anymore. When you can honestly say that, it’s a sign that you’ve truly embraced forgiveness and you have been able to move past your past.

When you’re finally able to move past your past, you’ll discover a present and a future that is exploding with potential, free from the cancer of bitterness and hurt that has crippled you for far too long. As Jesus asked the lame man by the pool “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:5), if you’re ready to get well, to be free, release your hurt through forgiveness and trust God to avenge you.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. How has your view of forgiveness and its power in your life changed over this past week?

2. Read Philippians 3:13-14. How do you think forgiveness could truly help you move past your past and begin to step into the freedom God has for you?

You can read other devotional entries for 10 Steps to Freedom here.