I have always understood God to be a forgiving God, but we all have had questions about the limit and nature of God’s forgiveness. I’m not an expert, but I am human, which automatically makes me a candidate for his mercy. The nature of the Lord’s forgiveness is immediate and unconditional based on his mercy. God is merciful, therefore he never turns someone away because of the nature of the sin, or the frequency that we call out to Him.
Sometimes we have a hard time believing we can be forgiven, but our forgiveness is unconditional based on our hearts and the mercy of God. We can be burdened at times with the hardships we bear, and sometimes we feel we don’t deserve God’s mercy. It is during these times that God’s grace leads us to him if we allow it. When we ask the Lord to forgive us, he is not looking at our sins, but graciously extends his mercy freely. We don’t deserve it and because we tend to feel that God won’t hear us, sometimes we forget to ask him for His grace.
When we send a letter to someone, we prepare the envelope and stamp it. Our hearts can be like the letter inside the envelope, we seal it, and take it to God. God hears our prayers, and gives us the forgiveness not based on the quality of the letter or our prayers, but because of Who it is addressed to. God always hears our hearts, and grants us forgiveness even if we call to him in a voiceless prayer.
We can trust his mercy, because our forgiveness is an act of His love and mercy, on God’s part. Should we need to come again and again, we need not fear that somehow his mercy will run out. God doesn’t withhold his forgiveness from us, and because we might not fully understand the nature of how he forgives us, we can become frustrated and angry if we are relying on some kind of outward affirmation that we are truly forgiven. Understanding the nature of God’s forgiveness can lead us into a greater appreciation of His mercy, which is endless (Psalm 136). Understanding what sin is, helps us to ask God for forgiveness, and consequently not understanding what the bible calls sin, can lead us away from seeking his mercy.
Having an enlightened conscience in this way, helps us understand the serious nature of sin, but even having a broken heart is better (Psalm 34:18). When we are truly repentant and ask God for His forgiveness, He will never keep his mercy from us (Daniel 9:9). This is Mike.
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