Do you ever feel like God really hasn’t forgiven you?
I have been there, feeling like I’m not really forgiven and thinking my sins were too bad for God to forgive. Thankfully, I was set free from that lie, and I’m going to share with you how.
Before I get into that, however, I want to point out that yes, we should feel remorse when we sin. Our sin is one of the things that grieves the Holy Spirit.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” – Ephesians 4:30
However, we should not get stuck in our remorse and guilt. When we confess our sins to God, he forgives us and sets us free from the guilty verdict. His forgiveness and grace are a gift we don’t deserve, but He loves us enough to give it to us anyway.
Which leads me to the first thing you should do when you don’t feel forgiven: Rejoice! Because isn’t God’s forgiveness and grace worth celebrating? It is a blessing to be forgiven.
“1Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” – Psalm 32:1-2
Also, rejoicing in God puts the focus back where it belongs: on Him and His love and grace.
The second thing you need to do is meditate on the truth: God’s Word, the Bible. One thing the Bible tells us is that God is not a liar.
“19 God is not man, that he should lie, or son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it?” – Numbers 23:19
Therefore, if God is not a liar, then we know that what is written in the Bible is true.
The Bible tells us that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9
The Bible also tells us that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:7
And in Romans, we read that we are no longer under condemnation if we are in Christ Jesus.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
Therefore, if God is not a liar and He says we are forgiven, then we are forgiven.
I suggest meditating on these verses. Read them daily. Write them down. Take them wherever you go and pull them out and read them when you need to. Memorize them. Hide them in your heart. Doing these things will come in handy for what I’m going to tell you to do next.
The third thing you need to do when you don’t feel forgiven is to shut it down. What do I mean by that? We know God can’t tell a lie. However, did you know that Satan can’t tell the truth? When Jesus called the Pharisees out on their lies in John 8:44, he said:
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Any doubt that you aren’t forgiven is from Satan. So, when he tries to feed you that lie, shut him down! Speak those verses I’ve mentioned earlier out loud. Tell him to get lost, in the name of Jesus, and to shut up!
The fourth thing I’m going to tell you to do may sound a little scary, but hear me out. So, you’ve confessed your sin to God, sought forgiveness from the person you sinned against (if applicable), but now you may need to confess your sin to another trusted Christian.
James 5:16 tells us:
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
I remember the first time God led me to do this. I kept hearing James 5:16 for a couple of days when I was going through the process of confessing my past sins to God. The thought of sharing them with someone terrified me. However, I just kept hearing that verse in my spirit. So, I finally said, “Okay, God. Who do you want me to confess to?” Once I knew who I was to confess to, I wasted no time telling them. Yes, I was scared, afraid of being judged. However, I knew I needed to obey. And you know, God is so good because the person he led me to confess to was compassionate and non-judgmental. She was empathetic and kind as I cried. She prayed for me and with me. A huge piece of me healed that night, and I never doubted God’s mercy and forgiveness again. Sometimes we just need another brother or sister in Christ to bear our burden with us.
Those are four powerful things to do when you don’t feel forgiven. Now, I want to save you from a ton of frustration and wasted time by telling you one thing you should not do when you don’t feel forgiven: do not try to forgive yourself! The world’s wisdom preaches forgiving yourself, but it’s actually unbiblical because God tells us we don’t have to. Only He can forgive us. I’m very passionate about this topic because Christians get caught up in the false gospel of self-forgiveness, and it’s just not necessary. In fact, I wrote more about this topic and five reasons why you shouldn’t try to forgive yourself. You can read it here.