You Don't Have to Forgive, because God Forgives!

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Have you ever been so close to God you felt like you could reach out and touch him? Have you ever felt so far away from God that you couldn't imagine how he could stand to look at you? I have felt both ways. There was a time where God was truly my best friend. He was the first one I went to whenever I needed to talk about everything. I read my Bible every night and made notes, I prayed every night with all my heart, and I did my best to always show people that I loved Christ. But then there came a time in my life where I didn't WANT to do what God told me. I wanted to do my own thing.

I always felt guilty; I would stop and think for a second, “God would not want me to be doing this right now.” Then I would continue in my sin. I think that is something everyone has done at one point in their life. You know you are sinning but the world takes hold of your hand and tells you everything is alright. “God will forgive you; you have nothing to worry about.”

Eventually I had to stare my sin in the face; there was no running, no hiding. What was I going to do? I didn't know how God would ever forgive me. How would I ever repay God for knowingly and willingly sinning? I struggled with this. I would sit in church and the pastor would forgive my sins; and I would think "Yes! My sins are forgiven!" But then a few days later I would be reminded of my sin and I would fall apart all over again. Eventually I got tired of THINKING God had forgiven me. HOW could He forgive me? HOW could He forget about what I had done? I couldn't forget about my sin. I couldn't forgive myself.

That's when I realize that God does not forget about a sin because *I* forget about a sin. God does not forgive me because *I* forgive myself. God forgets and God forgives because He sent his son to the cross. He didn't have Jesus die on the cross so I could forgive myself. He did it because He loves me and even though I may think my sin is unforgivable, God just sees it as a wrinkle on a shirt. He takes and iron and smooths it out. Once I step back out into the world I will get more wrinkles, but God will use that iron and I will be wrinkle free. That's what God does. He forgives and He forgets not because He has to but because He wants to. He didn't send Jesus to die on the cross because He had to but because He wanted to.

God will forgive you that is true, but you also have to forgive yourself and that is a lot harder. The world likes to say, “God will forgive you, do what you want.” But will you be okay with the sins you choose to take part in? Once you do something, say something, see something, you can't take that back. God forgot about your sin the first time you asked for forgiveness; whether you think so or not. That was my biggest problem, forgiving myself. I thought I needed to tell everyone about my sins in order for them to be forgiven. But that's not the case at all. The entire world does not need to know about your sins, because the world will just keep reminding you of that sin. It won't remind you of God's forgiveness.

God welcomed you in but you betrayed him. Why would God be so gracious? Because He loves you. That's the simple answer. God loves you and wants the best for you. In order to really understand and appreciate God's grace you have to know you are forgiven and give God the chance to remind you of all the things He has done for you.

God knows all the things you have done good or bad. But he takes all the bad things and washes them clean. There is no record. There is no proof. You are no longer dirty with sin. You are as white as snow.

Hebrews 10:17

Then he adds: " Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."

#lifelessons #Isaiah118 #faith #forgiveness #Grace