Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
One of the phrases that helps a lot of people heal after being hurt is that forgiving doesn't mean forgetting. The idea is that we don't have to forget the hurt that somebody has caused us in order to forgive them as part of the healing process. While this is true person to person, the forgiveness that God offers us goes so much further. It is so much more powerful than that.
One of the verses that reminds us just how far God's forgiveness goes is Isaiah chapter 43, verse 25. It says, "I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for My own sake and will never think of them again."
Christ Blots Out Your Sins
Let that sink in for a moment. In light of Christ's redemptive work, God forgives you of your sins. He blots them out, and He remembers them no more.
When we're offering forgiveness to people, the reason why we can say forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting is that the other person hasn't always righted their wrong. We want to relieve ourselves of the burden of holding on to that bitterness, that anger, and that pain.
God's More Permanent Solution
God has a more permanent solution when He forgives us. He sends His Son, Jesus, to be the perfect sacrifice. His blood covers our sins. He actually takes them away so that God can both forgive us and forget our sins—to not hold them against us.
He doesn't look at us and say, you know what? I'll forgive you, but I'm always going to remember every single little thing you've done against Me.
What God Actually Sees
Now, of course, God doesn't actually forget. God knows everything, and He always will. What this means is that when He enters into a relationship with us, all of our sins don't influence how He treats us. When He looks at us, He sees His children that He's adopted. He sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He sees those who have received an eternal inheritance, those who will live in His house forever.
God looks at us in this complete and powerful forgiveness. He's not a friend who holds us at arm's length with hesitation. He's not a father who looks down on us with disappointment. He is a God who has fully redeemed and restored us.
A Truth I Struggle to Believe
You know, that's a truth that I struggle to believe. When I look at my life, there are some really big moments of shame—some really big moments where I knew I was so far out of line from what God wanted for my life. I think of all the times that I've hurt people incredibly badly, and I look at that and I go, nobody could ever know all the things that they've ever done and still love them completely.
Yet God looks at me and He knows me fully and completely, and He loves me fully and completely. You can have that same relationship with Him.
Don't Hide Your Past
You don't have to hide those parts that you're afraid of, that you're ashamed of. God can fully know you and fully love you through the redemptive work of His Son.
The next time you think that you've gone too far, that this is the time that God's going to say, you know what? I'm done with you—think again.
For God's Own Namesake
God doesn't just do this for your benefit. Isaiah tells us He does this for His own namesake. This actually brings Him glory. God's wonderful plan for all of creation includes your redemption—buying you back at a price.
Put Down Your Burdens
Whatever burdens you're carrying on your shoulder from your past, it is time to put those down. Whatever skeletons you've tried to hide away in your closet, it's time to get rid of them.
Jesus Christ has died for your sins, and He offers you a new, complete, beautiful, whole life with Him forever and ever.
Live in Freedom
It might be hard to forget our sins, but I want you to bring them before God. Ask for forgiveness. Repent. Turn towards Him because He wants you to live in the freedom of knowing that He's forgotten every single one.
