Tell me if this scenario is familiar: You just committed what you think is a very serious sin. You feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit to repent, but the thought pop into your head, What you did was so horrible! You can never be forgiven by God. Then you start believing those thoughts and think that maybe God is mad at you or is ashamed of you—especially if you’ve struggled with this sin for years. I’m sure many of us have gone through this, but God, who loves us “with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3) wants us to know that we can come to Him, ask for forgiveness, and be forgiven.
Think about this: David, a man after God’s own heart, slept with Uriah’s wife and got him killed by putting him at the front of a battle and telling the other troops to retreat, leaving Uriah there, alone. However, God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David, and through a parable, Nathan was able to show David the severity of his sin. When he recognized what he’d done, David despaired over his sin, and repented. You can read his heartbreaking prayer of repentance in Psalm 51.
So, David committed a horrible sin that cost a man his life, but God forgave Him and made him a great king and an ancestor of the Messiah. The beloved disciple John wrote in his first letter, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
John, who was part of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, tells us that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. This means that if He promises to forgive you after confessing your sins, He will! And as our God who is full of mercy, He is justified in forgiving you, if He wants to. He is the One we have sinned against, and He has chosen to forgive us and cleanse us from all of our unrighteous ways.
It may be hard to believe sometimes, but God can’t lie (Numbers 23:19). God never changes, either (Malachi 3:6). Jesus’ death made it possible for us to be reconciled to God, and He wants you to come to Him. He will never turn away a truly repentant person.
So, simply put, God will forgive you! He promised it and He is glad to do so. Come to Him in prayer and confess what you’ve done. Then know that your Heavenly Father will forgive you and cleanse you from your unrighteous ways. Turn from your old sins and live for God in your new life!
