In this blog, we dive deeper into the transformative power of forgiveness. As you read the true story of Johnny Debbie McDaniel, and how they grieved and suffered for eight years after their only son was murdered; you discover how forgiveness releases the burdens of heartbreak, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and chronic anger.

They too felt un-forgiveness and resentment over the injustice of someone taking their son life. They wanted revenge; they wanted the murderer to pay with his life to level the playing field. We all feel the injustice and pain when someone hurts us. This pain can hibernate inside us for years causing us stress, heart disease, ill-feelings, depression, or anger.

When an injustice is not replaced with forgiveness, the bitterness affects relationships, marriages, friends, jobs, and eventually turns you into a prisoner, who is behind the bars of hate. When we forgive, we release the prisoner inside and learn to live and laugh again.

Forgiving Those Who Hurt You

The pain of someone hurting you can hang on for a lifetime, causing you to hold a grudge against them. Are you holding on to pain that you are unable to forgive someone for? Forgiveness is hard work, but well worth the effort once healing takes place. When you hold on to hurt, you create a prison within yourself that only hurts you. This prisoner inside keeps you bound by the stress, rage, and anger inside. The prisoner inside you affects your well-being in your relationships, marriage, work, and life in general.

Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those you persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 NLT).

You forgive the person that hurt you, not because they deserve it, but because God asks us to forgive those who trespass against us. True forgiveness comes from the heart. You are not saying you condone what happened. You don’t have to hang-out with that person who hurt you or become their friend. But you can release the hurt and learn to forgive, freeing the prisoner inside, which is you. God will forgive us for anything we have done by just asking. He expects us to do the same for others.

We read in Scripture, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins”(Matthew 6:14-15 NLT). Jesus always forgives us for what we have done just by asking. He asks us to love your enemies and pray for those who hurt you. We respond by turning evil into good by blessing those who are responsible for crushing our spirit.

In the book, “Forgiving the Killer while Grieving Uriah”, the McDaniel family grieve and mourn for years before releasing the pain inside that was ruining their lives. They both considered suicide to stop the intense pain that plagued them. You see, they lost their only son to a senseless murder and wanted to hurt the murderer in the same way he had hurt them. Resentment ruled their lives. Why should he live, when their son was dead? It just wasn’t fair. Learn how the McDaniel family worked through the pain and found freedom through forgiveness.

There is nothing that has been done to you, or you have done to someone else that cannot be forgiven with God’s love. You need Jesus, you can’t do it alone. When you ask Christ to help you remove the chains that bind you, you are free to forgive and move forward with your life for a happier future.