What does it mean that God “remembers our sins no more”? Does it mean He forgets? And does He expect us to forget when others have hurt us? What can we do when those past hurts keep coming to our minds? Discover a helpful process that can truly help us walk out forgiveness.
Also, have you ever wondered “Where is God?” when you’re hurting? Why doesn’t He seem to be answering your prayers? Why does He allow hardships to continue? What might He be doing when trials drag on?
Today’s Readings:
Esther 5 & 6
Psalm 90.1-6
Proverbs 22.9
Romans 4.1-25
Do I Have to Forget When Someone Hurts Me?
Psalm 90.1-6:
Remembering Our Sins No More
Did you notice the title of this Psalm? “A Prayer of Moses the Man of God.” I love the way God remembers the good and not the bad. A few days ago in Nehemiah, David was also called “the man of God.” Did God forget about David’s adultery? Did He forget that Moses struck the rock when he was told to speak to it?
He didn’t “forget,” He chose to “not remember”!
In her book, Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment, Linda Dillow shares this anecdote about Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross. Clara was reminded of a vicious deed someone had done to her years before.
“Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” came Clara’s reply, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.” She had made a conscious choice to forgive a vicious deed, a conscious choice to continue forgiving when reminded of the deed. By replying, “I distinctly remember forgetting it,” Clara Barton was saying, “I remember choosing to forgive, and I still choose to forgive.”
A Decision & A Process
Forgiveness is both a decision and a process. The decision is choosing to “not remember,” to not focus on the sin, and the process includes reminding ourselves of that and leaving the situation in God’s hands.
As believers, all our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. God chooses to “not remember” them against us (Is. 43.25) and He asks us to imitate Him (Eph. 5.1). That means choosing to forgive just as He has forgiven us (Eph. 4.32).
In reality, “not remembering” is different from “forgetting.” God doesn’t have amnesia and neither do we. When we sin, that sin is a debt we owe to God and others (Matt. 18.21-35). But when we repent and ask for forgiveness, God chooses to not charge that debt to our account but to charge it to Jesus’ account, instead. And that account was paid in full on the cross.
How Do I “Not Remember”?
So, exactly how do we choose to not remember? Of course, we want to pray and rely on God. But there are, also, some practical steps we can take that can be a help in the process.
We should remember that God forgives us based on promises like 1 John 1.9:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we’re to be imitators of God, we can do the same and forgive based on promises. Here are three promises we can make to God and indirectly to others as we walk through the process of forgiving.
The Three Promises of Forgiveness:
- I promise to not bring up the issue in an accusing way.
- I promise to not gossip to others about what happened.
- I promise to not dwell on it myself.
The first one means we don’t get to hold grudges or throw someone’s sin in a gunny sack and bring it out whenever there is an argument. Many a spouse, many a parent, and many a child have become discouraged and given up in their own battles against sin because the past was constantly thrown back at them. It’s a clear indication that we have not truly forgiven.
Number two means we don’t talk to anyone who is not part of the problem or part of the solution. It doesn’t mean that we don’t share with genuine counselors or mentors who can help us walk through the process, especially when we’ve been seriously sinned against. But even then, the focus needs to stay on our responses to the problems not merely talking about the other person.
Number three is perhaps the hardest. But we must refuse to play the mental video over and over. Instead, we must learn to quickly turn to God, ask for His forgiveness and help, and remind ourselves that we have already forgiven the other person.
If we do these things repeatedly out of a desire to please and honor God, we will move through the process of forgiveness and be able to extend grace and love to the other person. And we will grow in Christ-likeness ourselves. And that’s a win-win situation.
Today’s Other Readings:
Esther 5 & 6:
Where is God?
God is always at work, on behalf of His people, even when we can’t see what He is doing. In the book of Esther, there was no prophet, and no direct words from God. God’s activities were not, at first, apparent.
But He caused a pagan king to suffer a sleepless night and to ask his servant to read to him—from a government record of all things. What an unlikely “bedtime story.” Then, God had the reader go to something that happened five years previously, concerning one of His servants, Mordecai, and his loyalty to the King! If you remember from yesterday’s reading, Mordecai was in the crosshairs of one of the King’s counselors by the name of Haman.
When the king realized Mordecai had never been rewarded for his actions, he decided to reward him (better late than never) and chose to use Haman, to do it. Haman was mortified and, probably, terrified about this turn of events!
Even Hamen’s wife, who had encouraged him to build a gallows in the hope of seeing Mordecai hanged, said, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.”
We’ll read more about what happened in tomorrow’s reading.
Behind the Scenes in Your Life
As you read today’s and tomorrow’s readings in Esther, ask God to show you how He’s working behind the scenes in your life, even in those situations that are painful and difficult. Those times when you’re tempted to ask, “Where is God?” Meditate on Romans 8.28-29 and ask yourself:
“How could He be making me more like Christ through these circumstances?”
“What fruit of the Spirit is He developing in me as I wait on Him and His answers?”
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5.22-23a).
Tests and trials are not pleasant, but if we get to know God, His attributes (His love, His mercy, His goodness, etc.), and begin to understand that He has a purpose in what He allows, it makes it easier to trust Him and wait patiently in the difficulties.
Proverbs 22.9:
God’s Care for the Poor
God is always concerned about the poor and He blesses those who bless them.
But He is even more concerned about those who are poor spiritually and when we recognize our poverty of spirit, He gives us “the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5.3).
Romans 4.1-25:
Sola Fide
In this passage, Paul makes it very clear that it has always been about faith both in the Old Testament and in the New. Good works cannot save us. We can never be good enough to justify ourselves before a Holy God. Only through the blood of Jesus can any of us stand before Him. We appropriate that blood by putting our faith and trust in that truth—“sola fide”—by faith alone!
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll discuss our hope in trials, uncommon friends, and why we should bother living right?
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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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