Forgiveness - How do we get it?

Forgiveness?

So....you have done something wrong. Something you know does not please the Lord. You feel terrible about it and know you need His forgiveness. But............this is not the first time. You have done this thing before. You have confessed and asked forgiveness before. And you have failed before. Now you are miserable. How can God forgive you? How can He trust you? You told Him you were not going to do this anymore and you broke your word! Why would He trust you now when you have already proven that He cannot trust you?

Conflicting thoughts whirl through your head: "Maybe God does not care." "Of course He does." "He won't forgive you this time." "You have gone too far." "There is no hope". "Yes there is." "He is a God of Love." "How do I know?" "You can't!" "God will help you." "No He won't." The thoughts come endlessly.

Sleep is restless and uncomfortable. You toss and turn and find you cannot get rested no matter what. You mind is running and you cannot seem to shut it off. Even when you are not thinking about "it" you are thinking about "it". When you do sleep your dreams are troubled. Vague, undefined troubles.

Pressures seem to mount. "Can other people sense what I am going through?" you wonder. Words spoken by people not involved seem to cut like a knife at times. And you know that these have no idea at all about your private life. Glances, words, nuances seem to be directed at you. Even when you know they are not. Your attention is drawn back to your failure and sin, even by things that are not related to it, yet somehow in some undefined way, they are! "What is going on here? Am I losing my mind?" you ask yourself.

Your appetite seems gone. Food and drink are bland and the only reason you partake is to sustain your body. There is no pleasure in it at all. Your appetite has been replaced by a deep hunger for acceptance and forgiveness, but the turmoil within makes you wonder if it is available to you anymore.

Are you weird?

A few thousand years ago the King of Israel wrote these words:

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

The King had committed a serious offense. He had desired another man's wife, and while that man was away fighting a war the King had begun, he carried on an affair with her. When she told him she was pregnant he had her husband killed to cover his sin. He thought he had gotten away with it until someone who heard from God came to him and let him know God was angry with him for this horrible crime.

What did the King do to find peace, forgiveness and rest?

Then I acknowledged my sin unto you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" - and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

He experienced everything you are experiencing. It is simply God, trying to draw you to the place where you can find peace. All He asks is that you "confess" - this means to agree that He is right. God says sin is horrible and that the result of it eventually is death. To continue on is to walk the path toward destruction. He is trying to get you to turn around. Pay Attention Here!

Confess today. Tell Him, "Lord, you are right. I am a sinner and I need your help. I have done wrong in your sight. Forgive me and cleanse me Lord."

Then copy down this verse of Scripture: "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9)

When the thoughts come, "How can God forgive you? Look what you've done. You have tried before and failed. He cannot trust you.", simply read that verse of Scripture OUT LOUD until the thoughts leave. ( Of course, if you are someplace where folks might think you a bit looney if you did that, then memorize it and repeat it over in your mind.)

Trust God to help you do what is right - always. If you fail, get up and go one! Go back to the Lord. You cannot make it without His help. None of us are strong enough in ourselves. WE NEED HIM! Keep going to Him. Be persistent. Do not give up. Press in!

Why would He take the time for such as you? Simply because His love is (1) Causeless and (2) Changeless. This means first of all that (1) You did nothing to cause Him to love you. He chose to love you. (2) He does not change. He loved you before you were created. He knew you before you were born. He loved you then, knowing what was coming and what you would be like. He loves you now. He does not change.