The word forgiveness means different things to different people, but one thing it certainly points to is a prior state of being hurt emotionally or physically by others’ actions or words. Looking at dictionary definitions of the word forgive, it means some of the following:

• To pardon a wrong done
• To remit or cancel a debt
• To absolve of an offence
• To leave a hurt feeling or situation alone, abandon it, send it away from you, your mind or consciousness

Whatever definition we might adopt, it requires a conscious decision to forgive. In my personal life, I tend to ask myself,  Did God ask me to forgive, does it require my trust or faith in Him? Really when you think about it, anything He asks us to do will require our trust in, faith in and total reliance on Him.
Matthew 18:21-22 (Message) “At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”
“Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.”

Notice, Peter’s question asks, “Do I have a choice in forgiving someone that hurts me and letting it go?” (Amplified) and Jesus’s response says, “Yes”. Not only can you forgive seven times, but at a minimum seventy times seven times.
Luke’s recollection of the same question puts a different spin on it. Luke 17:4 (NLT) “Even if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times and says, ‘I repent’, you must forgive him (that is give up resentment and consider the offense recalled and annulled).”

Wow!! Jesus wants me to do this for an individual, 490 times. In one day??? Yes, He does. Now, He is not talking about you being a doormat to be walked over or putting yourself in harm’s way. He is talking about your faith walk with him. When you look at Mark 11:23-25 He discusses with the disciples how our faith works – by saying it and when we pray. (Did you notice that even when you pray you are saying something? You are speaking His word for that situation you are in). Jesus then asks us to forgive when we pray. In other words, forgiveness is part and parcel of how our faith works. Can we do this? Yes, we can!!!

Romans 5:5 says we have God’s kind of love that enables us to forgive. I can therefore trust Him, rely on Him and put my faith in His word and let go of those past and present hurts. We live in a world (family relationships, work relationships, church relationships etc.) where we will always have opportunities presented to us daily to practice forgiveness. I once heard someone say that refusing to let go of past wrongs does us more physical and emotional harm than the folks who have hurt us. Really, they might not even know what they did and are going their merry way.

Now, let us do like our heavenly Father does with us. Hebrews 8:12 (NLT) “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins”.

Forgiveness is a daily choice that we can make. It requires our faith in Him. He is not asking you to do it by yourself, He enables you to forgive. So forgive, walk free of past or present hurts and enjoy your life in Him.