Daily Devo
Trust in Forgiveness
By: Wendy Sanders
Friday, November 7, 2025
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
I've wronged someone, and I've also been on the other side where I was the one who was wronged. Neither of them feel good! In both cases, we can feel guilty and ashamed when the situation is mentioned again afterwards. So, how do we fix it? In Matthew 18, Peter asked Jesus the same thing.
We live in a fallen world, so Jesus knew we would be wronged, and He knew we would be "in the wrong" many times. Jesus told Peter (and us) what to do by giving us a very simple answer: forgive. Forgiveness is a simple solution, but it can also be one of the hardest things to do. Even though it's hard, we must understand that forgiveness is the only way we'll find freedom!
If you are struggling to forgive someone, trust God and ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we'll forget what happened, it just means we are choosing to no longer let it affect us. Forgiveness won't completely erase the past, but it is how we find healing and restoration from the pain in our past.
He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:10-12 (NLT)
God's Word also says we must offer forgiveness to others, just as Jesus offered His forgiveness to us. Jesus showed us compassion, so we must show compassion to the ones who have wronged us. When we do, they will see a changed life. When we're able to forgive the ones we don't feel like forgiving, it's proof that we're different, and its proof we've been changed by Jesus.
“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
Is there anyone you need to forgive? Is there anyone you need to ask for forgiveness? It can be a hard step to take, but with God's help we can do it. Trust God, and trust in His forgiveness! I pray that none of us hold onto any guilt or shame, and we choose to be set free by forgiveness.