and will forgive their sin
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
When God forgives our sins, He doesn’t just overlook them, or set them to one side. He doesn’t keep them in a box to be used as a punishment later on. When God forgives our sins, He also wipes them out completely. The Lord gave me a dream many years ago that helped me to understand this. I was sitting in the waiting room at a doctor’s office. The nurse walked over to me and handed me a clipboard with the usual paperwork that needed to be filled out before I could see the doctor. I looked at the page, and was surprised to see that it was already filled out. Someone else had written my name and personal information on the form. As my eyes scanned the page, my surprise turned to horror when I realized that there were all manner of dreadful diagnoses already written there (e.g. “cancer”). I knew that the things written about the condition of my health were false, so I immediately said to the nurse, “What is written here is not true!” As I said that, all of the words vanished immediately from the forms, leaving the page clean and white. The Lord showed me that the enemy loves to keep believers in bondage by telling us his plan for our lives. He wants us to believe his plan, which will render us incapacitated, unhealthy, and focused on our problems, because then we will be ineffective in doing any damage to his kingdom. But God’s diagnosis of our condition is quite different! When we confess our sins, He purifies us from ALL unrighteousness. Jesus has paid the price IN FULL. Is there any area of your life where you are plagued by shame or unworthiness? Do you feel that you are continually defiled or impure in some way? Confess your sins to God, then believe His word. He will forgive you completely, and purify you completely, 100%.
Prayer: Father, I thank You that You are faithful and just. Help me to recognize when the enemy is trying to deceive me into believing something about myself that is not true. Help me to only pay attention to what You say about me. Wipe away all shame, unworthiness, defilement, and impurity. Help me to daily confess my sins to You, and set me free to live the victorious Christian life as You intend. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
