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The forgiveness that God gives us is full and complete. Unlike most humans, he never holds our past sins over our heads, reminding us again and again of how badly we failed. People tend to do that, but not God.
God remembers our sins against us no more but many times we just don’t and won’t let go of it. Have you been wallowing around in the regrets of your past sins? True, you may be living with some of the consequences, but there’s no reason for you to let confessed sin hang over your head like a dark cloud.
When that happens, you are not enjoying your forgiveness. It’s as though you’ve forgotten that God has forgiven you, or you think he still intends to punish you for it, or perhaps you are just so sorry it happened that you can’t put it behind you. God is not honored in that way, is he?
Maybe you’re wondering what it means to enjoy your forgiveness. Well, consider this. We know that salvation is a gift from God. Ephesians 2: 8-9 says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” So, when you receive a gift, how does it make you feel? It’s free—you didn’t have to work for it or pay for it or earn it—you couldn’t if you tried. It’s a gift.
If I gave you a gift and you didn’t enjoy it, how would that make me feel? I would be disappointed—right? I mean, when I choose to give someone a gift, the greatest joy for me is seeing that they like it, that they want it and they are enjoying it. God gives us the gift of forgiveness—without charge, even though we don’t deserve it, and he loves to see us enjoy our gift of forgiveness.
It certainly does not please God when you don’t let go of your regrets from the past. God wants you to enjoy his forgiveness and be thankful for it and go forward in your walk with him. Living under the cloud of your past sins steals your joy, robs you of peace, and makes you less effective in Kingdom work—less capable of doing the good works he planned for you to do.
Are you enjoying your forgiveness? I hope you will give it much thought and determine by God’s grace to refuse to let the enemy keep you under a cloud of regret from confessed sins that have been forgiven.