There’s this moment that happens sometimes when I’m holding onto hurt. Maybe you know it too? That heavy feeling in your chest when someone has wounded you deeply and letting go seems impossible.
Today, I want to talk about forgiveness—not as a spiritual obligation we check off our to-do lists, but as something woven into the very fabric of our being. Trust me on this one…this is a superpower we all can exercise.
Forgiveness isn’t just a nice concept. It’s not just a spiritual obligation. It’s actually how we’re wired to heal. God made you to forgive.
The God who created the intricate systems of our bodies and minds also designed us to experience healing through forgiveness. It’s just so dang hard to release the hurt, bitterness and anger, right?
In Colossians 3:13, Paul writes: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” That word “must” isn’t there to shame us but to show us how things work.
When Jesus says in Matthew 6:14-15, “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,” He’s describing the natural order of things.
Our resistance to forgiveness makes perfect sense. When we’re hurt, our brains literally encode those experiences as threats—something researchers have confirmed through brain studies.
Our amygdala, that small almond-shaped part of our brain responsible for processing emotions, treats emotional pain as a physical threat.
This is where faith and science beautifully intersect. Researchers at Hope College found that when participants practiced forgiveness rather than nurturing grudges, their heart rates decreased, their blood pressure dropped, and stress indicators in their bodies diminished.
Research also shows that when people ruminate on wrongs done to them, their bodies enter a stress response—increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, facial tension. But when they practiced forgiveness? Those physical symptoms reversed.
Forgiveness literally heals your body.
Sometimes I think we resist forgiveness because we believe it means what happened doesn’t matter, or that we’re letting someone “get away with it.” But that’s not what forgiveness is at all.
Forgiveness is saying, “I’m no longer going to let what you did define me, control me, or determine my future.”
It’s not always a one-and-done action but a practice—a small daily turning toward healing rather than hurt. And in those small turnings, we find ourselves becoming more whole, more free, more like the people we were created to be.
What if, today, you took one small step toward forgiveness? Not because you have to, but because you were made for it?
Go in Peace – Seek Forgiveness
Chuck
