Tag: surrender to God

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Forgiving Again and Again

Key Scripture

“Then Peter came up and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

— Matthew 18:21–22 (ESV)

Devotional Reflection

There are moments when forgiveness feels clear.

You pray.

You surrender the offense to God.

You choose to release the person who hurt you.

You genuinely believe you have forgiven.

Then, without warning, a memory resurfaces.

A familiar name is mentioned.

An old wound is triggered.

The anger returns.

The sadness rises again.

And suddenly you wonder:

• Did I ever really forgive?

• Was my decision sincere?

• Why am I back here again?

If you have asked those questions, you are not alone.

Many people assume that forgiveness is a one-time event that permanently removes every painful emotion connected to an offense. When those emotions return, they conclude that they must have failed.

But perhaps forgiveness is not always as simple as a single moment.

Perhaps, for some wounds, forgiveness becomes a repeated act of surrender.

Peter once asked Jesus:

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

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Bring Your Hurt to God

Key Scripture

“Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

— 1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)

Devotional Reflection

Yesterday, you named the wound.

You acknowledged what happened.

You admitted that it hurt.

You gave words to losses you may have carried in silence for years.

But now another question arises:

What do I do with all of this pain?

What do you do with the anger that still surfaces unexpectedly?

The disappointment that lingers?

The grief that returns without warning?

The fear that history might repeat itself?

The questions that remain unanswered?

Many of us carry these burdens longer than we were ever meant to.

We replay conversations in our minds.

We rehearse what we wish we had said.

We imagine different outcomes.

We try to solve problems that cannot be undone.

We search endlessly for explanations that may never come.

And little by little, the weight becomes exhausting.

Yet God never intended for you to carry your pain alone.

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What Forgiveness Really Means

Key Scripture

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” — Colossians 3:13 (ESV)

Devotional Reflection

When you hear the word forgiveness, what comes to mind?

For some, it means forgetting the offense and moving on as if nothing happened.

For others, it means pretending they are no longer hurt.

Some believe forgiveness means excusing harmful behavior or immediately restoring a broken relationship.

Others fear that forgiving someone means allowing that person to “get away with it.”

No wonder forgiveness feels impossible.

Many of us have been trying to do something God never asked us to do.

That is why understanding what forgiveness really means is so important.

In Colossians 3:13, Paul writes:
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

Notice that Paul assumes something about life:

People will hurt one another.

He speaks of complaints because relationships involve imperfect people. In a broken world, misunderstandings happen. Words wound. Trust is broken. Expectations are disappointed. The need for forgiveness is not the exception to human relationships—it is part of living among people who, like us, are flawed and fallen.

But Paul also points us to the pattern of forgiveness:

“As the Lord has forgiven you…”

Before forgiveness is something we give, it is something we receive.

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