In our Christian walk, we may have had moments where we feel like we were not forgiven. It is as if, we know the Lord does and can forgive us but we still feel the guilt of sin. No matter what you may have done, God is still ready to forgive you. We just need to admit that we were wrong and He can make us new again. Let us look into God’s Word to see how we can handle these feelings of unforgiveness and to better understand the depth of God’s love.
When we first come to know the Lord, we know that He is a forgiving God. After all, we were told to confess our sin and He is ready to forgive us. We came to God believing that He will forgive us and He did! The same God that forgave you is still the same God, no matter how close we are with the Lord. So why do we feel like we cannot be forgiven?
One reason may be because you are reminded of the sin you did. The devil will use any tactic to make you lose your focus from the Lord. Why? His main purpose is to “steal, kill, and destroy”(John 10:10). He wants to stop you so that you will continue in sin and not fulfill God’s purpose for your life. When we sin and do not ask God’s forgiveness, we will spend our eternity in Hell.
When the enemy comes to remind us of our sin and past, what do we do? We fight using the word of God! In this situation of forgiveness, Hebrews 8:12 says “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” When God forgives us, He does not remember our sin anymore. We have the tendency to remember all the wrongs that we do that we may even forget that God has already forgiven and forgotten them. When we sin, we have to ask God’s forgiveness and continue in righteousness so that we are counted as holy in His sight.
Another reason could be that we are burdened with the guilt and we wonder if God can still forgive us. While it is good to acknowledge that we have sinned, we do not need to carry the guilt around. As mentioned previously, when God forgives us, He does not remember it anymore. But did you also know that He is full of mercy? Psalm 145:8 says “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.” If the Lord was not great in mercy, He would not forgive us and He would contradict His Word.
When these feelings arise, we must remember what God’s Word says. His Word says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). According to this verse, if you come to God confessing your sin and you ask for forgiveness, He will forgive you. We just have to believe and know God’s Word is true. As people, we will be prone or tempted to sin. When we do sin, we must humble ourselves and ask for God’s forgiveness. Once we do, our relationship is restored with Him.
How can our relationship with the Lord be so easily restored when we ask for forgiveness? It is all because of God’s love and compassion. This love and compassion is so great that He gave His very best so we can have a relationship with Him. He gave Jesus who was perfect but also a sacrifice for our sin. When He died and rose again, He defeated the enemy and is offering the gift of salvation to all that will believe. All we need to do is believe in His gift and know that He is faithful to forgive us. Once we know this, we can come humbly before Him when we sin and we can have the assurance that we are forgiven.
So the next time you feel like you are not forgiven, know that you are forgiven! We just have to believe and know in our heart that God will stay true to His Word and that He loves us more than we know. God’s love and forgiveness is so great that it is freely given to all who believe. Anything that contradicts God’s Word comes only from the enemy and he will try to lure you away further and further from the Lord. Know that God is ready to forgive you anytime, we just need to know that we are accepting and deserving of God’s grace and forgiveness.
Thought for the week: Have you ever felt unforgiven? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?