Forgiveness Is Cleansing: Let the Water Run
Have you ever tried to wash a wound with dirty water?
It doesn’t help. In fact, it makes it worse. Contaminated water carries infection, bacteria, and lingering pain. But pure water? It doesn’t just rinse. It heals.
In the same way, unforgiveness is like trying to clean your soul with polluted water—it keeps you in cycles of hurt. But forgiveness, real God-centered forgiveness, is pure. It flows from heaven like living water, cleansing not just the offense, but the one offended.
🌊 The Sink of the Soul
Picture your heart as a sink. Life happens—dirt collects. People hurt you, lie about you, abandon or betray you. The sink fills up with grime. Some of us try to scrub it out with rage. Others try to plug the drain and let it overflow with resentment.
But God offers something better:
He turns on the faucet.
When you forgive, you let the water run.
You release the clog. You let God’s healing flow wash over everything they did—and everything you felt.
“Yes—Oh my God! Forgiveness is cleansing.”
🚫 You’re Not Heaven’s Correction Officer
Let’s be honest. Sometimes we act like we’re God’s little deputies, sent to make sure they feel the pain they caused us. But Scripture clears this up:
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
— Romans 12:19
Justice isn’t your job. Judgment isn’t your assignment.
Forgiveness isn’t excusing the wrong—it’s releasing the right to be the one who repays it. That’s a weight only God can carry. When you hold on, the water can’t run. The sink stays dirty. But when you let go, the drain opens—and the cleansing begins.
🧼 Forgiveness Doesn’t Say “It Was Okay”
It says:
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“I won’t be controlled by this anymore.”
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“I won’t spend another day being poisoned by someone else’s sin.”
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“I trust God more than I trust revenge.”
And you don’t have to be perfect to forgive.
You don’t even have to feel ready.
You just have to obey.
“If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
— 1 John 1:9
💧 Forgiveness Is Not Weakness
The enemy wants you to believe that forgiving is giving up.
But here’s the truth:
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Forgiveness makes you clean.
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Forgiveness makes you free.
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Forgiveness makes you God’s—because only He can take what’s bitter and make it beautiful.
When you release it, you’re not surrendering to the offender.
You’re surrendering to the Healer. You’re letting the faucet run.
🕊️ Benediction:
May the Lord wash over your heart like fresh, flowing water.
May every wound caused by others be touched by His healing hand.
May you walk in the bold freedom of forgiveness,
and may you never pick up what God has already asked you to lay down.
Let peace be your portion.
Let grace guide your thoughts.
Let love lead your actions.
In Jesus’ name.
🙏🏽 Prayer:
Father,
You know the hurt.
You know the story behind every scar.
You know what was said, what was done—and what still weighs heavy on my heart.
But I don’t want to live with poison in my soul.
I don’t want to scrub with rage or overflow with resentment.
I release it. I release them. I let the water run.
I forgive not because I feel like it, but because You command it—and You know best.
I trust You to deal justly with every wrong and gently with every wounded place in me.
Cleanse me, Lord—not just from what I’ve done, but from what I’ve held.
Fill me with Your love, Your peace, Your clarity.
Let me reflect mercy, not memory.
And as I walk in Your grace, may I never turn off the faucet of forgiveness again.
In Jesus’ holy name,
Amen.
Grace and Peace,
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Dr. John Roberts, Th.D.