Faith, Forgiveness, and the Fight We Let God Handle.

There’s something about pain that makes us want to react. When someone wounds us deeply, our first instinct is to either fight back or retreat into bitterness. But what if I told you that the greatest power we have is neither revenge nor resentment—but surrender?

Jesus, in Luke 17, gives us a deep and often difficult lesson about faith, forgiveness, and duty. It’s not a comfortable passage. It confronts our human nature head-on, calling us to a higher way of living—one that demands trust in God’s justice and obedience to His call to forgive.

Let’s take a deep dive.

When Offenses Come—And They Will

“It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” (Luke 17:1)

Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat reality. People will offend us. It’s inevitable. The problem is not the offense itself; it’s how we handle it.

It’s easy to hold onto hurt. When someone betrays us, gossips about us, or wrongs us in any way, we often feel justified in our anger. But Jesus warns us—not about being offended, but about being the one who causes offense.

The Greek word for offense here is skandalon, which originally referred to the trigger of a trap—a bent stick that, once disturbed, would snap the trap shut. In other words, offenses aren’t just accidental wounds; they are spiritual traps.

Have you ever been caught in one?

That bitter thought you can’t shake.

That urge to make them pay.

That wall you’ve built to keep people out.

The enemy loves these traps because they keep us bound, unable to move forward in faith. But Jesus calls us to do something radical: refuse to take the bait.

The Challenge of Forgiveness

“If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4)

Let’s be honest—this is hard.

It’s one thing to forgive someone once. Maybe even twice. But seven times in a single day? That seems excessive. Yet, Jesus isn’t focused on numbers; He’s highlighting the heart posture we should have.

See, forgiveness isn’t about keeping score. It’s about losing count.

Some wounds are deep. Some betrayals shake us to our core. But if we are waiting for an offense-free life, we will be waiting forever. Jesus doesn’t say, “Avoid people so you won’t be hurt.” He says, “When they hurt you, deal with it and forgive them.”

Forgiveness is not denying the hurt. It’s choosing to surrender it to God.

It’s saying, “I refuse to be trapped by this.”

It’s trusting that God sees, God knows, and God will handle justice in His way and His time.

And that’s where faith comes in.

The Faith to Let God Handle It

Right after Jesus commands radical forgiveness, the apostles respond with:

“Lord, increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5)

They weren’t asking for faith to perform miracles. They were asking for faith to forgive.

Because let’s be real—sometimes forgiveness feels like the hardest miracle of all.

That’s why Jesus replies,

“If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6)

Why a mulberry tree?

Because its roots run deep. Some say they can stay rooted for hundreds of years. Just like bitterness.

Some of us have roots of unforgiveness that have been growing for years. Decades, even. Deep, tangled, toxic. But Jesus says, Even if your faith is small, if it’s placed in the right thing—Me—it’s enough to uproot even the most stubborn bitterness.

Faith isn’t about the size. It’s about where it’s placed.

So, What’s Our Duty?

Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting.

Faith doesn’t mean we don’t feel.

Trusting God doesn’t mean we let people walk all over us.

But it does mean we let God be God.

David had every reason to take revenge on Saul. Saul hunted him, tried to kill him, and treated him unjustly. Yet David refused to strike the Lord’s anointed. Why?

Because he knew—God fights for His own.

“As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.” (1 Samuel 26:10)

David understood something that we often struggle with: God sees, God knows, and God will handle it.

The Final Question: Will You Trust Him?

There’s a reason Jesus connected forgiveness to faith.

There’s a reason He warned us about the traps of offense.

There’s a reason He calls us to release rather than retaliate.

Because He knows—freedom is found in letting go.

So, who do you need to forgive today?

What bitterness do you need to uproot?

What battle do you need to stop fighting and let God handle?

Maybe your faith feels small. Maybe forgiveness feels impossible.

But take heart—even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains.

Or, in this case—uproot a mulberry tree.

Let God do the uprooting.

Let God handle the justice.

Let God heal what you cannot.

And in the meantime?

Hold your peace.

Because the Lord Himself will fight for you.