Yearn forgiveness

Our next adventure in praying is often difficult because of our great skill for self-deception. Our brains frequently function to hide our faults - even (and maybe especially) from ourselves. Don’t shrink back from inviting God’s help with this. Again, we are not bringing new information to God when we uncover our most secret thoughts. He is already aware of our shortcomings and simply awaiting awareness on our part. God was aware of our present sin long before we were born and yet He still loved us. I still can’t get over knowing that He knows and still loves me. It is the reason we call His grace amazing.

Psalm 139:23-24 NLT

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [24] Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Biblical lists of sins like the ones found in Proverbs 6:16-19 and Galatians 5:19-21 are good ways to put our lives under the microscope and find areas we need to align with His holiness.

Invite investigation. Admit the problem and face it squarely. The publican modeled this well. We can also make a restoration or apology when it’s appropriate. After that, we need to move on and live in the freedom purchased for us.

We can’t take the matter of seeking forgiveness lightly but we need to learn to admit it, sorrow appropriately, and eventually move on. Some of us have taken sorrow to a pathological level. The point of pathology is when we fail to trust the sacrifice of Jesus and the faithfulness of God to forgive as He promised. We begin to place our faith in the quality of our sorrow instead of the quality of His sacrifice.

1 John 1:8-10 NLT

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. [9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. [10] If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Some of us are prone to force payment on ourselves. We literally punish ourselves severely because of the awareness of sin in ourselves. We are all imperfect. None of us meet God’s righteous standard. It is why we need His grace. It is the reason the Old Testament law was considered weak. When we move from sorrow into self-punishment. That crosses the line.

Understand that Jesus paid for your sin. It’s paid for in full. You cannot, by a life of sincere self-punishment pay for one single sin not to mention a lifetime of sin. Let His payment be your freedom. Get over it. Go and live forgiven.

The scripture in 1 John 1:8-10 says God is faithful and just (righteous) to forgive. He is faithful because He does it every time we ask without failure. He is just or right because He has already secured the payment for our sins. He is not out to collect a duplicate payment for a sin that has already been paid in full.

It is not appropriate for us to continually beat ourselves up over things for which we have been forgiven. Stop payment on the debt you don’t owe. We were not set free to return to a life of offering sacrifices. It is for freedom we were set free.

I haven’t made a truck payment for almost 30 years because it’s paid for. I received a letter from Ford financing that said I was done and I completely believed it. I stopped making payments! May the Lord help us to believe His word to an equal degree. Our sins. The big ones. The little ones. They have all been paid for. The life of Jesus sacrificed on the cross was sufficient payment for all sin. It is finished.