Forgive and Forget? - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - March 23, 2025
Forgive and Forget?
By Rick Warren
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)
You’ve heard this phrase over and over: “Forgive and forget.” There’s only one problem with it: You can’t do it. It’s impossible!
You really can’t forget a hurt in your life. In fact, there’s really no use in even trying to forget. Because when you try to forget, you end up focusing on the very thing you want to forget.
And the truth is, God doesn’t want you to forget. Instead, he wants you to trust him and see how he can bring good out of the hurt. That’s more important than forgetting. When you see God bring good out of a bad situation, you can thank him for that good work. You can’t thank God for things you forget.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV).
It doesn’t say that all things are good—because all things are not good. Disease is not good. A broken relationship is not good. War is not good. Abuse is not good.
There are a lot of things in life that are evil. Not everything that happens in this world is God’s will.
But God says he will work good out of the bad things in life if you will trust him. You can go to him and say, “God, I give you all the pieces of my life.”
He will take your pieces and instead give you peace in your heart. This peace will come when you realize you can forgive, even if you don’t understand the hurt in your life, because you know God will use that pain for good.
You don’t have to forget the wrong thing someone did to you. You couldn’t forget even if you tried! But God says there’s no need to forget it. You just have to forgive and then see how God will bring good out of the hurt.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Your Gift DOUBLES to Impact Lives for Eternity!
Thank you for your gift below, which will be DOUBLED by a $10,000 Matching Grant to point even more people to Jesus Christ through Daily Hope!
As thanks for your gift, we’ll send you Pastor Rick’s book Journey with Jesus. This beautifully illustrated resource explores Jesus’ sacrificial journey to the cross—and is a powerful reminder of God’s love for you and his call for you to live out your faith.
Request your copy below when you have your gift doubled—and thank you for your partnership!
*All gifts will be doubled up to the full amount of the grant. Thank you for your generous support!
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.
This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
