Many people find it difficult to say and mean the words “I forgive you for hurting me.” Yet, no one enjoys inner peace without genuine forgiveness.
We give our power away when we hold grudges ― but you probably already know this; otherwise, you won’t be reading these forgiveness quotes.
As humans, we are bound to make mistakes and hurt each other, especially those closest to us. But as the saying goes, “to err is human, to forgive divine.”
I’ve compiled 60 powerful I Forgive You For Hurting Me quotes for two reasons. First, to help you let go of the past and move on. And second, to open your eyes to the futility of holding a grudge.
It is my hope that as you read these quotes, the messages in them will resonate with you, and you’ll have the courage to practice forgiveness.
28 Powerful I Forgive You for Hurting Me Quotes
- “Today, I decided to forgive you. Not because you apologized, or because you acknowledged the pain that you caused me, but because my soul deserves peace.” – Najwa Zebian
- “I love you, and I forgive you. I am like you, and you are like me. I love all people. I love the world. I love creating. Everything in our life should be based on love.” – Ray Bradbury
- “Today, I forgive all those who have ever offended me. I give my love to all thirsty hearts, both to those who love me and to those who do not love me.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
- “If I say, ‘I forgive you,’ I have implicitly said you have done something wrong to me. But what forgiveness is at its heart is both saying that justice has been violated and not letting that violation count against the offender.” – Miroslav Volf
- “I don’t write this letter to put bitterness into your heart but to pluck it out of mine. For my own sake, I must forgive you.” – Oscar Wilde
- “In the external scheme of things, shining moments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings are what eternity is made of ― moments when we human beings can say ‘I love you,’ ‘I’m proud of you,’ ‘I forgive you,’ ‘I’m grateful for you.’ That’s what eternity is made of: invisible imperishable good stuff.” – Fred Rogers
- “I hope you can someday forgive me. ‘I forgive you now.’” – Richard Paul Evans
- “Only someone who can say ‘I love you’ is capable of saying ‘I forgive you.’” – Paulo Coelho
- “But still, here are the words Despereaux Tilling spoke to his father. He said, ‘I forgive you, Pa!’ And he said those words because he sensed that it was the only way to save his heart, to stop it from breaking in two. Despereaux, reader, spoke those words to save himself.” – Kate DiCamillo
- “A man bumps me on his busy way without so much as an apology. But that is all right. I forgive you, busy man about town with the sharp elbows. Hail and farewell to you!” – Libba Bray
- “I have this theory: If you forgive someone, they can’t hurt you anymore.” – Candace Bushnell
- “When you forgive, you free your soul. But when you say I’m sorry, you free two souls.” – Donald L. Hicks
- “The power I have on you is to spare you. The malice towards you, to forgive you.” –William Shakespeare
- “The words ‘I will forgive you, but I’ll never forget what you’ve done’ never explain the real nature of forgiveness.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “I forgive, but I also learn a lesson. I won’t hate you, but I’ll never get close enough for you to hurt me again. I can’t let my forgiveness become foolishness.” – Tony Gaskins
- “I think there comes a point where you have to grow up and get over yourself, lighten up, and forgive.” – Jennifer Aniston
- “I’m a good enough person to forgive you, and you should be a good enough person to not do it again.” – Annette Thomas
- “Thinking about forgiving is not enough. You must come to a moment when you say, ‘With God’s help, I now forgive.’” – Norman Vincent Peale
- “Home is where ‘I know you,’ ‘I accept you,’ ‘I forgive you,’ and ‘I love you’ are most likely to be heard.” – Richelle E. Goodrich
- “Granny was right, I said. When you forgive someone, it does make you stronger. It makes your heart bigger than your hate.” – Jack Gantos
- “I could forgive my own brother of anything, at the end of the day, because we’re brothers. You can’t get in between that blood.” – Jeffrey Pierce
- “I still love you. I will always love you, and that is all that matters. I will forgive you anything, and I will forgive you this.” – Melissa de la Cruz
- “Many forgiven me for my missteps. I know, I’m big-mouthed. Thank you for giving me a second chance. Because of you, I also forgive others.” – Assegid Habtewold
- “If it helps you. I forgive you. But I have learned in recent weeks that seeking forgiveness from others is meaningless unless you can forgive yourself.” – Maya Banks
- “I actually think it’s easier to be positive than negative, to be honest ― it takes way more energy to stay mad at someone, for instance, than it does to say ‘I forgive you’ and move on.” – Dave Smalley
- “I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they’re sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.” – Yolanda Hadid
- “You can’t forgive without loving. And I don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, ‘I forgive. I’m finished with it.’” – Maya Angelou
- “Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
I Forgive You for Hurting Me Quotes: Definition of True Forgiveness
- “Forgiveness simply means loving someone enough to pursue healing instead of punishment when they have wronged you.” – Dave Willis
- “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” – Corrie Ten Boom
- “Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a choice to show mercy, not to hold the offense up against the offender. Forgiveness is an expression of love.” – Gary Chapman
- “Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.” – Ben Greenhalgh
- “Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.” – Jessica Lange
- “Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” – Lewis B. Smedes
- “Forgiveness is an inner correction that lightens the heart. It is for our peace of mind first. Being at peace, we will now have peace to give to others, and this is the most permanent and valuable gift we can possibly give.” – Gerald Jampolsky
- “When somebody hurts you, they take power over you ― if you don’t forgive them, then they keep the power. Forgive them and after you forgive them, forgive yourself.” – Ritu Ghatourey
- “When you’re forgiving someone ― forgive them, then move on! Don’t rehash or remind. It doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen… regain your power and choose to release yourself from the situation. Mistakes happen, people may or may not learn from them. Forgive.” – Bernajoy Vaal
- “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
I Forgive You for Hurting Me Quotes: Why You Should Forgive
- “Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” – Dave Willis
- “Forgiveness doesn’t make the other person right; it makes you free.” – Stormie Omartian
- “Instead of getting even or teaching someone a lesson when they do you wrong, consider teaching yourself a lesson instead. Revenge keeps you psychically connected to another in a negative way. Release yourself through the liberating act of forgiveness, and learn a truly valuable spiritual lesson.” – Sri Gawn Tu Fahr
- “Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals.” – Thomas S. Manson
- “The most important thing that I learned in growing up is that forgiveness is something that, when you do it, you free yourself to move on.” – Tyler Perry
- “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you are.” – Cherie Carter-Scott
- “The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” – Marianne Williamson
- “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” – Mother Teresa
- “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” – Robert Muller
- “It can be hard to forgive and let go, but it’s important to remember that harboring resentment and holding a grudge can hurt you even more. The word ‘forgive’ really means to give something up for yourself, not for them.” – Jack Canfield
- “When we don’t forgive, we’re not hurting the other person. We’re not hurting the company that did us wrong. We’re not hurting God. We’re only hurting ourselves.” – Joel Osteen
- “People hurt each other. It happens to everyone. Intentionally, unintentionally, regretfully, or not. It’s a part of what we do as people. The beauty is that we have the ability to heal and forgive.” – Adi Alsaid
- “Don’t wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving; you will never get there. Feelings take time to heal after the choice to forgive is made.” – Neil Anderson
- “When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health and our happiness. Our enemies would dance with joy if only they knew how they were worrying us, lacerating us, and getting even with us! Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our days and nights into a hellish turmoil.” – Dale Carnegie
- “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” – Oscar Wilde
- “The most miserable prison in the world is the prison we make for ourselves when we refuse to show mercy. Our thoughts become shackled; our emotions are chained, and the will is almost paralyzed. But when we show mercy, all of these bonds are broken, and we enter into a joyful liberty that frees us to share God’s love with others.” – Warren W. Wiersbe
- “By far the strongest poison to the human spirit is the inability to forgive oneself or another person. Forgiveness is no longer an option but a necessity for healing.” – Caroline Myss
- “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” – Catherine Ponder
- “We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies ― it is the first law of nature.” – Voltaire
- “The person you’re mad at might have moved on, and they’re not even thinking about you. So, your anger isn’t hurting them; it’s hurting you.” – Sonya Parker
- “Vengeance is having a videotape planted in your soul that cannot be turned off. It plays the painful scene over and over again inside your mind…And each time it plays, you feel the clap of pain again…Forgiving turns off the videotape of pained memory. Forgiving sets you free.” – Lewis B. Smedes
