December 22, 2020
A Gift Only He Can Give
Suzanne Eller
Today’s Truth
“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 NIV).
Friend to Friend
Most of the women had left the room. I was picking up my things when I noticed her standing in the shadows. I sensed that she wanted to flee, even as something kept her feet rooted to the floor.
“I've been told for years that when I forgive myself, I'll finally be free," she said. "But I can't do it. I've tried.”
I love it when God brings two sisters together. Their stories intertwined. I had just shared my story of forgiving those who hurt me in the past, and the freedom I found in that not-so-easy but liberating path. This brave mom and wife sat down across from me and spilled her own story.
She was not the one hurt by those she loved, but the one who caused the pain.
She made mistakes that hurt her marriage and her children. She had said she was sorry. She did the hard work. She had changed, but the burden of shame remained.
This affected the way she viewed herself. It affected her relationships, as she held tight to the belief that she didn’t deserve their love. When she knelt to pray, she didn’t approach her Heavenly Father as a forgiven woman but as one who had to continually strive to earn His love and pay for past mistakes over and over again.
I pulled my new friend close in a hug and whispered these words:
God doesn’t ask us to forgive ourselves. He asks us to receive His forgiveness.
If you search the Bible, you’ll not find a verse requiring or asking you to forgive yourself, but what you will find are these words.
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).
“. . . as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).
This woman had made a lot of strong choices. She chose to express remorse to those she hurt. She chose to sincerely apologize. She chose to work through the hurt and damage with those she loved. It was time to make one more choice.
It was time to receive the generous, life-giving gift of forgiveness God offered her.
Months later, she was still in awe of the transformation that begin that night.
It took time, but she had begun to understand that forgiving herself was not something she could simply do on her own, but something that had already been done on her behalf. That integrated into how she viewed herself and how she loved others. When she knelt to pray, it was as a woman healed and redeemed.
What about you, sister? A new year is upon us. Perhaps it’s time to write a new chapter in that old story. Perhaps today is the day you unwrap that gift of forgiveness He so freely offers each of us.
It’s no longer your job to try to forgive yourself. Instead, you are invited to receive God’s utter and complete forgiveness, and see yourself in that light.
Will you receive that gift?
Let’s Pray
God, I have been trying to forgive myself, but I still carry shame. Today, I receive that gift of forgiveness You hold out to me. Thank you for doing a healing work inside of me that I cannot do on my own. Thank you for a new day, a new chapter, and a new beginning.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Place your name in the blanks of this scripture, 1 John 1:9.
If {_______________________} confess her sins, God is faithful and just to forgive {_________________________} sins and cleanse {_________________________} of all unrighteousness.
Take a few moments and thank Him for that gift.
More From the Girlfriends
In Suzanne’s book, The Unburdened Heart: Finding the Freedom of Forgiveness, she shares her story along with biblical teaching. Suzie will gently walk with you to show you what forgiveness is (and what it’s not), how forgiveness releases you, and how forgiving leads you from living in the past to live fully in the present.
© 2020 by Suzanne Eller. All rights reserved.
Originally published Tuesday, 22 December 2020.
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