Forgotten

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins ( Isaiah 43:25).

From my earliest memories, my life was plagued by a gnawing, ceaseless guilt. My obsessive mind just would not let me rest. Reminders of my failures were constant. Guilt is one of the greatest de-motivators of human personality.

One of the major truths that brought me back to God in 1976 was when a friend told me that God was not mad at me because of my sin. Then he showed me 2 Corinthians 5: 19: That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (NIV). He told me that when I come to Jesus and repent, it is just as though I had never sinned. I was aghast!

I considered myself the black sheep of my family, and thought God was through with me. A spark of hope brought a glimmer of light to my dark world when I learned the dimensions of God’s mercy.

Here’s what I learned. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To confess means to agree with, to acknowledge what I did wrong. I do one thing; God aggresses towards me by doing four things; He is faithful to me, just to me, forgives my sin, and cleanses me from all unrighteousness.

When God forgives, he completely forgets what I did. He retains no remembrance of my failure. It is as though I never did wrong! And there sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17). As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).

It’s amazing. God has no memory of sin confessed. It’s not even history. He literally blots it out. God lives in the eternal now. To God, past, present, and future are all NOW. If He can’t remember my sin, it’s as though it never existed! It’s not even a part of history!

The ball and chain of guilt have been removed from my life for many years now. And the personal and spiritual progress have been incredible. I am not the same person I was 30 years ago. Righteousness (the ability to stand before God as though you had never sinned) produces spiritual growth and the ability to change!

Let go of your past today through repentance and confession. Embrace God’s mercy. Remember, a righteous man fall seven times, and rises up again (Proverbs 24:16). Accept God’s forgiveness and get up!