EXPERIENCING GOD IN OUR FORGIVENESS

The moment we genuinely believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our relationship with God is completely restored because all the sins we have committed in the past are fully forgiven. God said, "I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again (Isaiah 43:25)." The phrase "blot out" means erase. God perfectly erased all our sins, just like erasing our writings on the whiteboard—completely clean like a brand new whiteboard. God not only erased our sins, but He also chose not to remember them forever. There are situations in which we can erase something on the whiteboard, but we can still remember what we erased. However, this is not the case with God regarding our sins. Since God has chosen not to remember our sins, He cannot hold them against us. His grace or favor is more than enough to cover all our sins. 

Experiencing God is to accept our complete forgiveness from God. We need to release any guilt and shame from the past sins that we have committed. Satan is very clever in using our past sins to discourage and cripple us spiritually to stop us from growing in our relationship with God. We have to believe in our hearts that we have been completely forgiven the moment we confess our sins to God. When Linda and I argue, it is easy to use our past mistakes against each other. We often catch ourselves saying, "You always..." or "Remember what you've done in the past." We learned that when we begin to use our past mistakes against each other, we will never resolve our arguments. As a result, we tried not to use our past mistakes against each other. God has given us freedom from the past so that we can experience Him in the new life that we have in Him. 

Our past mistakes or sins do not define us; we are defined by our journey of forgiveness and the new life that we have in God. Let us let go of the sins of the past and live in the experience of God's forgiveness that we have in Him. 

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) Why is it important to embrace my forgiveness in God and let go of my guilt and shame from my past sins? Is there any guilt and shame that I am still keeping in my heart? Do I believe that I am completely forgiven?

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for completely forgiving me of all my past sins. Please help me to move on and release all my guilt and shame from the past, for they do not define me as a person any longer. I want to experience you in the forgiveness that I have in you. Please help me walk in the freedom of forgiveness. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.