It is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. —Philippians 2:13
Nothing about forgiveness is easy. It’s hard to think about. It’s hard to do. It’s hard to keep doing. But if we could somehow back away from our own situation long enough, out where we could see it more clearly, where the wounds and the scars didn’t hurt us every time we made a sudden movement, we’d see something else.
We’d see that not forgiving only makes it worse. Someone once told me that not forgiving is like drinking poison and hoping someone else would die. That’s a powerful word picture for what unforgiveness is like in the human heart. Though it may feel right and seem justified, though it may appear to be the only option available to us, it is destructive and deadly to the one who drinks it. The very weapon we use to inflict pain on our offender becomes a sword turned inward on ourselves, doing far more damage to us—and to those who love us—than to those who have hurt us.
Make it Personal
Have you ever experienced the poison of unforgiveness? How did it affect you? How were you able to let go and forgive?