Wondering makes us Wander

There are times that I wonder if God has fully forgiven me for things I have done.  Even though I have fully repented and asked God for forgiveness, it always seems that our sins are far worse than everyone else's, when they really aren't.  Our sins are the same as everyone else's.  A sin is a sin.  That's what I have come to find out.  Every sin is forgivable except completely turning from God and speaking against Him.  I too struggle with the "am I really forgiven" question though.  It was on my mind the other night and I opened the Bible and began reading.  Within a couple of minutes, I found God's Word that completely put my mind at ease and I thought I would share it with you.  I am using the Amplified Bible which I have recently found and love the way it's written.

Psalm 103:2 - 13

²Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits--
³Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,
⁴Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;
⁵Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!^(A)
6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.
⁷He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.
⁹He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.
¹⁰He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.
¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

Notice 103:3?  He forgives all of our iniquities. The definition of iniquity is as follows:

1. gross injustice or wickedness.

2. a violation of right or duty; wicked act; sin.

It doesn't say that he forgives our minor sins.  He forgives us for our GROSS (meaning flagrant or extreme) injustice or wickedness.  He forgives us for violating our Christian duties and wicked acts.  He redeems us from the pit of corruption.  We have a very loving God that angers slowly and even if He is angered, He will not bear a grudge against us.  He will turn His face back to us when we repent and ask Him for forgiveness.  He will remove our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.  He tosses them away and never looks back.  He expects us to do the same because He loves us and wants us to have Joy in our lives.  There is no room for joy when we are constantly worrying.

I heard it said one time that the reason our eyes are on the front of our head is so we will always be looking forward.  Looking backward is not a good thing.  Remember what happened to Lot's wife when she looked back?  She turned into a pillar of salt.  When we look back at the past, that's where our heart is.  Eyes forward and moving ahead to the future.  Eyes backward makes us wander in the wilderness until we look forward again.

Jesus was perfect in every way.  He was God's Son!  He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  Wondering if we are really still saved or forgiven is insulting to God when He put forth His Son so that through Him we can all be saved if we believe.

My last comment on this subject is that just because God is slow to anger and will forgive us, it is not a free ticket to do as we want.  We are not true Christians if we continue to let sin lead us in circles in the wilderness.  We are true Christians when we know what a sin is and avoid it.  God always gives us a way to avoid sin.  We always get an "out clause" in every situation that will allow us to get out of a situation without sinning.  True Christians will avoid sinning on purpose.  We will turn our eyes to Him and let Him lead the way according to His will.  As Christians, His will should always be more important than our own.  That is something most of us struggle with, so I challenge you (and myself) to begin looking to him on a daily basis and asking Him how we should handle situations, then follow His lead.  We should read His word so we can combat sin and rebuke Satan.  His word is so powerful!  All of our questions are answered in the Bible, we just have to read it and learn it.  My favorite saying is: Christ died for me; the least I can do is live for Him.  God bless you in your walk with Him!



P.S. I have changed out the music on the music player for your enjoyment.