Forgiveness is a powerful thing, and we need to receive it. Of all the people in the world we need to forgive, we need to forgive those who hurt and offend us, simply because it is right in the sight of God. Think, my friend: who has hurt you? Perhaps there's someone else you need to forgive for allowing you to be hurt: Yourself.
Forgiving Ourselves
We all fall sometimes. Even as believers, we are sometimes tempted, and actually fall for the temptation before us. It could be as seemingly "little" as an ungodly thought, or perhaps something "big" as committing theft, slander, adultery, or murder. There's no "small" or "big" sin before God – they're all sin (see James 2:10).
If we want God's forgiveness, we confess our sins before God, repent, and turn from our wrongdoing (see 1 John 1:9). While God forgives us quite easily when we are truly sorry and repentant, many of us are hard on ourselves, feeling unable to forgive ourselves for what we have done.
Are you like that?
Do you always carry in yourself a sense of shame over something you've done years ago, have repented of, and have already received God's forgiveness for?
Do you feel bad, thinking that you shouldn't have allowed those things to happen, and can't seem to live in the now because you want to set things right or clear your name from the wrongdoing?
Do you feel like you'll never amount to anything, that whenever you remember all the bad things you've done, you feel condemned as if God hasn't forgiven you and you have to prove that you're "not that kind of person"?
If you're like that, I can probably assume that you're finding a hard time to press on towards the call of God for your life. Your past mistakes often haunt you and hinder your decision-making today, rendering you unable to live for God in freedom and peace.
Friends, that's what failing to forgive ourselves for being a sinner does.
God Forgave You Already
Dear reader, if you can relate to the matter (or perhaps are the person) I am talking about, I want to encourage you: If God has forgiven you, He also has forgotten whatever you've done. He forgets them. Not a hint of any memory of your sin.
"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25 MEV)
Friend, stop condemning yourself for what God has already forgiven. Let's put behind what He has erased, and pursue a life of holiness in Him. Remember the words our Lord Jesus Christ said to the woman caught in sin:
"Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." (see John 8:11)
Forgive those who hurt you, forgive yourself for allowing the hurt to happen, and move on. We're not perfect, but Jesus doesn't condemn us for it. Let's live our lives in the freedom that He purchased for us.
