Last week Jesus told His disciples they could move mountains — faith to go and do. This week, in the very next breath, He names a mountain we’re far less eager to see moved: the mountain of unforgiveness. It hinges on one small word. “Have faith in God… and whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him.” That little “and” couples two things together — the power of God to move obstacles, and the power of unforgiveness to shut that work down. We might have faith enough to do. The harder question is whether we have faith enough to let go.
The bear trap
Think of the Miracle on the Hudson — Flight 1549, two minutes off the runway, brought down by a flock of geese. It’s almost hard to believe: all that gravity-defying engineering, all that power, undone by a few birds down the engines. And that’s the picture Jesus paints. You and I are made in the image of God, filled with His Spirit, empowered for real kingdom work — and then someone throws an insult, a betrayal, a wound into our lives, and if we hold onto it, that’s all it takes to bring the whole thing down.
Unforgiveness is a bear trap that clamps down on the presence and power of God in a life and holds it there until the enemy can come and blast it. So Jesus is blunt: “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Standing to pray here is less a posture than an attitude — a battle stance, standing firm, persisting. And you can’t stand firm in prayer while dragging a grudge.
What forgiveness is — and isn’t
C.S. Lewis said everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive. Biblically, to forgive means three things: to let go, to give up, and to send away. It does not mean to justify what happened or to pretend it didn’t hurt.
Jesus told a story to drive it home (Matthew 18). A man owed the king a fortune he could never repay, and the king, moved with compassion, wiped the whole debt clean. That same man walked out, found someone who owed him a trifling sum, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him in prison over it. When the king heard, he handed the unforgiving servant over to the torturers. That’s exactly what unforgiveness does — it tortures your soul. The person who wronged you is out having a fine day; you’re the one at home, bound up, unable to put on a jacket because the knife is still in your own back. Holding onto the hurt doesn’t hurt them; it only hurts you. And measure the debt honestly: what they did to you is a molehill of sand next to the dump-truck mountain God has already forgiven in you. If He wiped that clean, how can we refuse to release the little that’s owed us? We forgive because we’ve been forgiven.
How to actually do it
A few things make forgiveness possible when it feels impossible. First, forgiveness is not an emotion; it’s a command. “I don’t feel ready” is fine — tell your feelings to catch up, because that’s the road you’re walking anyway. Second, you’re not responsible for the other person’s response, only for your attempt; you make it right and leave the rest with God. Third — and this ties the whole passage together — forgiveness is a faith issue. Do you trust the Lord with the wrong that was done to you? Enough to take your hands off it?
It also helps to keep three words distinct. Forgiveness is a decision — Jesus decided, from the cross, “Father, forgive them.” Reconciliation is a process, and restoration takes time; those may or may not come, and they involve the other person. But forgiveness is yours to give today, by faith, regardless. And don’t fake it — if they walk into the room and your blood boils or your thoughts go dark, the knife is still in. Take it out.
So the real test of this whole passage isn’t whether you can pray big enough to move a mountain. It’s whether you’ll trust God enough to let one go. Do you trust Him with your singleness, your marriage, your kids, your finances, your future — and your wounds? “Have faith in God,” Jesus said. Have faith enough to forgive. Picture the hurt loaded onto a raft, pushed out onto the water, and set ablaze — let go, give up, send away — and be free.
This article is drawn from the message “Faith & Forgiveness (Part 2)” (Mark 11:25-26), part of our study through the Gospel of Mark at Calvary Chapel Star. Watch the full message on our YouTube channel.
