So what is forgiveness?
Forgiveness is a decision of the heart to release a person from your personal claim of revenge and entrust justice to God.
It is choosing not to repay evil for evil.
It is refusing to allow bitterness to take permanent residence in your soul.
It is surrendering your right to settle the score and placing the matter into God’s hands.
Forgiveness says:
“What happened mattered.”
“The wound was real.”
“The pain cannot be ignored.”
“But I choose not to carry this burden of vengeance any longer.”
Forgiveness is not saying:
“It didn’t hurt.”
It is saying:
“It hurt deeply, but I will trust God with what I cannot change.”
Forgiveness does not rewrite the past.
It changes how we carry the past into the future.
This does not mean forgiveness is easy.