The Heart of God to Forgive

Devotional

As much as God hates sin because of its destructive effects on us and others, he hates even more that something could come between our relationship with him. Because he desired a relationship with us, God sent his Son to pay the price for our restoration. And it’s because of his continued love for us that he forgives us the very moment we repent of our sin. There’s no price to pay. There’s no time we have to spend outside of his perfect love. Jesus paid the price for every sin you and I will ever commit.

Think for a moment about your normal routine after you sin. What process do you usually go through before you feel restored to God? How long do you wait to repent? How much time do you usually let pass before you feel you can open your heart to God and enjoy him? It’s true that the consequences of sin can linger even after we ask forgiveness, but an obstacle in our relationship with God is not one of them. Jesus paid the highest price, his own life, so that nothing could ever come between us and God again. The Bible says in Romans 8:33-39,

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword… For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The depth of God’s unconditional love for you drives him to forgive you. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” After you confess your sin to him, he chooses to remember it no more. If you feel reminded of a transgression, it is not the voice of the Spirit. You have an enemy who lies constantly to form barriers between you and God. Because the enemy can no longer keep you from heaven, he will work tirelessly to wreck your relationship with God here on the earth. The moment you confess your sin to God is the moment there is nothing between you. Allow nothing to hinder your relationship with your heavenly Father. Renew your mind to the truth of what God says about your sin. God’s heart is to forgive you now and forever. His heart is to lead you into perfect relationship with him every day, all day. Say yes to God’s leading today, and rid yourself of the condemnation of past sins he has already forgotten.