“But I don’t feel forgiven.”
Millions every day confront the gap between God’s promise to forgive their sins and the relentless guilt that drives them to despair. We trust the truth of our emotions elsewhere: why not here as well?
But a gracious God wouldn’t allow our forever to hang upon the slender thread of changeable—and whimsical—emotions. We love pasta on Tuesday, and don’t ever want to see it again by Friday. We adore a particular shade of green, only to despise it one week later.
Just as it was necessary to trust God’s Word that we were sinners and separated from Him—even when we didn’t feel like sinners—so it’s crucial that we trust God’s Word that we have been forgiven when we place our trust in Jesus—even though we may not feel forgiven.
The apostle John learned this truth from Jesus: “By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20).
We don’t activate God’s forgiveness by the intensity of our devotion or the alignment of our emotions: we aren’t that powerful. “Redeemed” is His objective declaration of our actual standing before Him when we claim Jesus as our Saviour.
We are embraced by grace before we love; when we can no longer sing; even when we are still wrestling with our fears.
So stay in grace.