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 NKJV
Sometimes we don’t feel forgiven. Even though we have believed that Christ’s death and resurrection paid the penalty for all our sins and we now have eternal life, we still sin. First John 1:9 tells us believers to confess our sins to God, and He cleanses us. What if we still feel guilty? Some people say we should forgive ourselves. This is not a biblical concept, but it probably means accepting God’s forgiveness. If feelings of guilt return every time we recall what we have done, perhaps we are still grieving the losses a particular sin has caused. Sin can be forgiven and restitution can be made, but most consequences are permanent. Something broke like an egg when we sinned, and it cannot be fixed in this life. Yet God can redeem it for good. Failures can keep us dependent on Him and give us empathy for others.
Two things will help us “feel” forgiven. (1) Thanking God for His promise that we are cleansed “from all unrighteousness.” The promise is as sure as God is. And (2) Meditating on Galatians 5:1 (NKJV): “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Stand victorious in the truth that Christ has freed us from our sin and guilt. It cannot enslave us again unless we let it.
Dear Lord, although I don’t deserve Your mercy and grace, I gratefully accept Your complete forgiveness.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2013 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Marcia Hornok.