James Fortune - I Forgive Me Lyrics
Lyrics
Sometimes the hardest person for you to forgive
Is the one you see in the mirror everyday
It's time for you to get free
I've decided to stop replaying regrets
And I've decided to tell my past by
I cannot change what I did
But I did change what you gave
When you took my place
No more guilt but grace
Feel it all went too long
Watching reruns of my wrongs
Take the shame away
Reliving mistakes you wash away
I forgive me
I forgive me
I forgive me
I forgive me
Now I know it was wrong
Carried this weight for too long
I forgive me
I forgive me
I forgive me
I forgive me
Now I know it was wrong
Carried this weight for too long
I forgive me
I'm letting it go
I'm letting it go
You won't steal my future anymore
I'm letting it go
I'm letting it go
You won't steal my future anymore
I'm letting it go
I'm letting it go
You won't steal my future anymore
I'm letting it go
I'm letting it go
You won't steal my future anymore
Oh oh ooooh, oh oh ooooh
You won't steal my future anymore
Oh oh ooooh, oh oh ooooh
You won't steal my future anymore
Oh oh ooooh, oh oh ooooh
You won't steal my future anymore
Oh oh ooooh, oh oh ooooh
I forgive me
I forgive me
I forgive me
I forgive me
Video
James Fortune & FIYA - I Forgive Me
Meaning & Inspiration
James Fortune & FIYA delivered a powerful message with their song "I Forgive Me," released on April 11, 2017. This track goes directly to the heart of a challenge many who have received God's grace still grapple with: the struggle to let go of past mistakes and the crippling weight of self-condemnation, even after divine pardon has been extended. The song's core story revolves around the deeply personal journey of accepting God's finished work of forgiveness not just intellectually, but emotionally and spiritually to the point where one can finally forgive themselves. It addresses the human tendency to hold onto guilt and shame long after God has declared us clean, highlighting that often, the last person we forgive is the one looking back at us in the mirror.
Analyzing the song reveals a beautiful tension between the absolute nature of God's forgiveness and the conditional nature of our own acceptance of it. The musical arrangement supports this, often building with intensity, perhaps reflecting the internal battle before releasing into a sense of peace and resolution. The genius of the song lies in its stark truth: God has already forgiven, as Scripture affirms countless times. Psalm 103:12 assures us that "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Isaiah 43:25 says, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." Micah 7:19 tells us He will "again have compassion on us... trample our iniquities underfoot... [and] hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." These verses paint a vivid picture of a forgiveness that is total, complete, and forgetting. Yet, we often replay our failures, allowing them to define us and prevent us from fully walking in the freedom Christ purchased.
This is where the profound spiritual work addressed by "I Forgive Me" comes in. It echoes the truth found in 1 John 3:20, which tenderly acknowledges that "if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." Our hearts, prone to self-recrimination, are not the ultimate authority on our standing; God is. Therefore, the act of forgiving oneself is not an act of self-absolution outside of God's grace, but rather a necessary act of aligning our inner world with the truth of God's declared forgiveness over us. It’s accepting the pardon so fully that we no longer allow the past to dictate our present or future, living instead in the reality of Romans 8:1, which declares, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." The song encourages stepping into that lack of condemnation, embracing the freedom described in Philippians 3:13-14, which speaks of "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead," pressing on toward the goal. By voicing the need to forgive oneself, the song gives voice to a vital step in the journey of faith – the step that allows us to truly rise from the ashes of regret and walk in the fullness of our new identity in Christ, free to serve and love without the chains of yesterday. It's a powerful reminder that God's release from sin is complete, and our part is to receive it fully, even from the one person who might be most hesitant to extend it: ourselves.