I hope everyone is doing well this week and your hearts are resting in Jesus’ great and tender love for each of you. I hope you have been blessed with people around you who are able to show the love of Jesus to you through their actions. This is a great blessing and a great help as we learn how much Jesus loves us. If there is no one like this in your life, maybe Jesus wants to show His love to you Himself when you grow closer to Him as you spend time with Him daily. God’s children, who hold onto guilt and shame because they are unwilling to confess their sins, are limiting what He can do in their lives. No matter how big or small their offenses are, it can all be forgiven, never to be remembered again by God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that softens the heart of a person to cause them to seek forgiveness through Jesus’ work on the cross. After God’s child has repented the burden of guilt is lifted, never to return. As this process of repentance and forgiveness continues, healing of the heart and transformation of a life can occur. This work is all done through God’s endless gift of grace given to all people who love Him.
The love of God extends to all people and all generations. In God through Jesus Christ is the only way to receive complete forgiveness for our sins. To God sin is sin, no matter how big or small. It doesn’t matter how horrible we think it is, God can forgive us and help us to forgive others. Each time we experience a desire to forgive or seek forgiveness, healing is allowed to happen in our hearts. The thing with healing is that there are more than one or two areas in our lives that we need to seek forgiveness for. There are many areas, and God knows each and every one of them. We don’t need to worry about getting all the work done; we just need to walk with Jesus daily. When we are ready He will bring up each area that needs His healing touch as we forgive and seek forgiveness.
The problem occurs when we are unwilling to accept the work of the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts. Then, when God brings up an old hurt or shameful event from our past, we hinder His work of forgiveness and also our chance for healing and wholeness. God is so good, that when He works in our hearts through His Holy Spirit He doesn’t just heal our hearts, He also transforms us into the people He originally planned for us to become before sin affected our lives. We may still look the same on the outside because the transformation has occurred on the inside, in our hearts. For our hearts reflect who we are and how we live. As we live healed by God’s grace, we can then be used by God in many beautiful ways for His glory and Kingdom. The eternal glory we receive from a life lived wholly for God is beyond our ability to imagine.
In Psalm 32, David rejoices because God is faithful to forgive all who turn from their sin and trust in Him daily. There are many stories in God’s Word that talk about how David messed up. He committed adultery with a woman and then had her husband killed to try to hide his guilt. He pridefully counted his army before a battle, even when God had commanded him not to. I am sure there were others also. The important thing that we can learn from David and all other godly people is that they all sinned against God. Then they walked in that sin until the Holy Spirit convicted them, and immediately they repented and turned back to God. When a person truly repents God is faithful to forgive their sin and remember it no more.
When I think about the transforming power of God’s forgiveness I become overwhelmed with deep gratitude. To start with, Jesus saved me from eternity apart from Him. He did this through His Holy Spirit wooing me and loving me to Himself. He forgave me instantly of my sins and He gave me a gift. He gave me His Holy Spirit to live in my heart to help me to be changed from the inside out so I could live for Him. As I repent, Jesus has been faithful to forgive me of each offense I do; so now I am able to forgive others who hurt me. The joy I experience in my life is nothing short of a miracle.
“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 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. Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I confess my transgression to the Lord – and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:1-5
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.” Ephesians 5:32
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9
God’s heart rejoices each time His children receive His correction, repent, seek His forgiveness and turn to Him. They will receive healing and wholeness of heart as they walk in forgiveness towards others. God’s love will shower them with blessings and gifts that only He can give. Those who resist the work of the Holy Spirit to lead them to repent and also to forgive others are not trusting in God’s gift of grace. They are unable to be used by God if they remain this way. Let us seek God today and everyday with humble hearts so that we would be sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May we respond obediently to anything He brings to our attention, whether we need to forgive someone else or seek forgiveness from God. The transformation we experience will lead us to a life of peace and wholeness we have never known before, even if the world around us is not peaceful.
We will continue reading Psalm 31-35 for one more week.
Blessings,
Patricia Terrell
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