Day Eight: The Gift of Forgiveness

                                                  THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS

Psalm 86:5
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Psalm 32:1
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Today’s gift is forgiveness. One of the most precious gifts God has given us, for without forgiveness, there is no relationship with God.

I love the two verses at the top of this blog. The first verse assures us that when we go to God in prayer and repent of the sins we’ve committed, He is waiting and ready to forgive. I can almost see Him in my mind’s eye. He is standing, watching me as I kneel and He is silently encouraging me to come to Him and repent. When I do ask for His forgiveness, I see His face break out into a huge smile as He grants me forgiveness.  Of course, you realize there is nothing really scriptural about what I see in my mind’s eye, but I still like to visualize it. It helps me realize how eager God truly is to forgive me.

I think the main reason God is eager to forgive me because until there is forgiveness, our relationship is not as it should be. We cannot commune together like we normally would.  I am not able to praise and worship as I’d like to and I am not able to receive His ministry until that sin which stands between us is forgiven and wiped away.

There is a condition to forgiveness. Matthew 6:14-15: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  

That is really a strong statement – God will not forgive us if we do not forgive others who have sinned against us.

I can hear some of you saying, “but you don’t know how deeply wounded I am.” Yes, actually I do, because I’ve been deeply wounded. So deeply wounded that even though I knew I must forgive, it took me a very long time to forgive and mean it. The Bible says that God knows our heart – so he knew that I realized I had to forgive this person, but I wasn’t ready yet. So, He waited until I came to Him, repented of my part in that situation and He forgave me. There is, honestly, no better feeling than to be forgiven and restored to God.

If you have sin in your life today, I encourage you to go to God and ask for forgiveness. He is waiting for you.

Dear Father, I repent today of sins of omission and sins of commission and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you God. Thank you for the freedom found in forgiveness and the restoration of our relationship. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.