Is forgiveness ever out of reach? Have you ever wondered if God will reject you forever over a sin of which you have confessed and repented?
As I speak to women in my retreats on forgiveness, I have encountered some who are still burdened by the lie that because they do not feel forgiven by God–that their prayers of confession and their sincere turning away from that sin have not been accepted.
I have been in that place, too.
The following story is one that I have shared often in my speaking to women. Its message is powerful and one that I pray will comfort you in your struggle to believe the truth of 1 John 1:9:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A Rash Act
I once heard a story about a young man who had to stand trial for a crime he was accused of committing. His father, a wealthy and well-known rancher, was present for the proceedings. After cross examination and a jury’s deliberation, the young man was found guilty as charged. His punishment was a prison sentence which would take years to complete. As he was handcuffed to be led away to his prison cell, his father looked at his son one last time and said, “I will never forgive you. You have brought disgrace on this family. When you have done your time, you are not welcome home again.”
The young man hung his head in shame and walked away.
Years passed and the disgraced son, no longer young, had paid for his crime. With shaking hands and a heart full of dread over the response he might receive, he wrote a letter begging for his father’s forgiveness as he sat in his prison cell in the weeks before his release.
“Daddy,” the few scrawled sentences started,
“I am almost ready to be released from prison. I will be on the train that will go right past the ranch. If you have forgiven me, please tie a white ribbon to the tree by the fence. If the white ribbon is not there, I won’t get off the train, but will keep on going and will never bother you again.”
The days passed and the newly released prisoner boarded the train. As the train neared his father’s ranch, he couldn’t bear to look out the window to see his father’s response to his letter. So he asked the man sitting across the aisle if he would look for him.
“Tell me if there is a white ribbon in the tree by the fence.”
The other passenger stared out the window as the train passed by the ranch. The man held his breath waiting to hear whether he had been accepted or rejected. He dared to ask,
“Do you see a white ribbon in the tree?”
“No,” came the reply. The man’s heart fell into his shoes. He had so hoped that time and his words would have softened his father’s heart toward him.
“No,” the other passenger repeated. “There isn’t one white ribbon, but hundreds of white ribbons hanging from the tree, and all along the fence. What does it mean?”
The forgiven rancher’s son jumped to his feet to collect his things.
“What does it mean?” he repeated, with tears streaming down his cheeks, “It means that my daddy has forgiven me and I am going home!” he shouted.
Time to Go Home
Yes, there are times when we grieve the Holy Spirit and God has to discipline us. We cannot find His presence because we have strayed because of obedience to Him. We are incredibly vulnerable to the lies of the enemy when we find ourselves in that situation. Our pride can keep us from recognizing the truth of what we have done. We can run for a while, but eventually, we start missing Him. Unlike an earthly father who might say something to us in a rash moment of anger, our heavenly Father will never reject us forever.
Everything changes when we repent. We may have spent a season of life walking toward our sin. Repenting means we have now turned around and are walking back toward God to obey.
We don’t have to hope that there is forgiveness.
There is a tree to look to–the cross of Calvary–where we will find God’s forgiveness in the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. How do we get the forgiveness we so desperately need in order to restore the joy of our salvation? On our knees in front of the cross.
You were forgiven for that sin the moment you sincerely confessed and repented. Your emotions are not the indication of your status with your God. He is faithful and just to forgive you in that moment and cleanse you from that sin’s stain. Jesus Christ has paid your debt on the ultimate forgiveness tree–the cross where He bled and died and then rose again to set us free from sin’s power and consequences.
And because that debt is paid, it’s time to rejoice and go home to your Father, free of guilt.
He’s waiting for you, my friend!
Have you ever struggled to believe that you are forgiven? As a result, have you struggled with guilt after you have repented of the sin that weighs you down? Please share in the comments below. I’d love to hear your story.