How to Receive Forgiveness

Life can present sharp turns, leaving us to wonder what might happen next. We face high mountaintops and deep valleys, or perhaps we find ourselves looking straight into a black hole, feeling nothing but loneliness.

I felt that. I feel that.

I found myself reaching for my Bible in the loneliest moment of most recent memory, opening up to Isaiah 43:1-2:

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you go through deep waters,

I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty,

you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression,

you will not be burned up;

the flames will not consume you. (NLT)

We find ourselves in the midst of deep waters, seeking forgiveness and wading through rivers of such difficulty.

We speak words, act out, and make choices, sometimes before giving much thought to the outcome. I have overthought, underthought, and not thought at all. I have both spoken up and shut down at the wrong times.

I have sat with friends, strangers, and family, explaining forgiveness time and time again. I have prayed with people who were seeking it, extended it to others, and thought I knew what it meant to be on the receiving end.

For so long I thought I had to do things to gain the love and forgiveness of Christ. In that, I lost sight of what forgiveness really means. I caused pain, pushed people away, and turned corners to places in myself I never thought I would see.

In the middle of one difficult conversation, using all the energy I had left in me, I found these words: “I am so sorry for hurting you.”  The words I received in return were “I forgive you.”

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a man spoke the words, but in my soul I felt the Lord speaking them to me. “I forgive you.” It was in that moment that I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

“I forgive you.”

In the midst of my deep heartache, swollen eyes, and smeared makeup, I felt forgiveness. Jesus forgives. I wondered to myself, How is it fair that God would use an agonizing conversation to help me understand that I am forgiven? Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT).

There is power in not just knowing we have been offered forgiveness, but in receiving it. We all mess up. We make choices no one understands, even ourselves, but we are forgiven.

God sent his son Jesus so we could have an opportunity to know forgiveness, to receive it for ourselves, and to extend it to others.  There is a love and a hope that extends past all understanding when we allow ourselves to simply believe that truth.

The cross shouldn’t be a reminder that we have to do things in order to be forgiven or feel “good enough” to be a child of God.  The Bible is full of truth and hope, but perhaps nothing is more hopeful than this, one of the most quoted passages: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NLT).

Forgiveness is not about doing; it’s about believing.

While being constantly amazed by the grace and love poured out by God, Amanda Landes enjoys the great outdoors, coffee and trying to decipher which is more beneficial, Double Stuff Oreos or triathlon training. The life adventures that have come her way provide an opportunity to share that, no matter the trials or turns in the road before us, there is a solid hope and foundation that is found in Christ. Amanda blogs at abidingtrust.com.