The word “forgiveness” contains the word give.  This is the proper thing to give to our enemies.  Someone wrongs us and years later we still pay the consequences of what they set up for us.  We are instructed to love them anyway and forgive them just as Jesus forgave us.  However forgiveness does not mean we are required to automatically trust them.  In fact it is unwise to run to them as if they are still friends only to be trampled again. 

Trust is earned and once trust is broken it is next to impossible to restore that friendship back to the fullness of the way things used to be.  Therefore forgiving a person doesn’t declare them trustworthy but it clears our conscience of the need to carry the burden of losing that friend.  It frees us to move ahead to new beginnings.

It’s understandable that there is grief over losing a friend who turned against us but Jesus walks with us during these difficult times.  We may never know why such a friend suddenly turned against us but Jesus knows.  There are opportunities we may not get due to the fact we are stuck with consequences someone else caused but God opens new doors.

We are commanded to love and to forgive no matter what.  God has His perfect reasons for allowing things to come our way but He always shines His light at our feet while we walk His pathway.

While we may have lost a person we considered to be a friend, that same person lost our trust.  Prayer is the best thing to offer to God on behalf of that person.  God will restore peace back to us as we remove our trust from that friend and place our trust in God.

John 13:34-35  New Living Translation

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.   Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”