I am often asked, "If God has forgiven me, then why do I not feel forgiven?" Thankfully, there is a solution for this exasperation. I understand these frustrations because I counsel with so many who struggle with God’s forgiveness. Usually, when we get down to the root of how people feel, it is not so much that God has not forgiven them, but that they cannot forgive themselves. This is why so many people do not feel forgiven.
Confidence Begins by Believing God's Truth Lies.
1 John 3:19-21 is among some of my favorite verses in the Bible. They are packed with life-changing truth that can transform the way you both think and feel. They are more than words on a page. They are life and peace to those who will accept them.
The Apostle John, the author of these scriptures, tells us the foundation of his thinking. The ultimate goal of these scriptures is to give us “confidence” in God. Note the contrast that it does not say confidence in ourselves or even confidence in our prayers. Most of us do not feel forgiven, because our confidence is in the wrong place. We worry about whether we have prayed enough or said the right words. We worry if we are sincere. Yet, scripture says these are not the foundation of forgiveness. Rather, it is confidence in God.
So what leads to confidence in God? It is truth. Verse nineteen says that our hearts are reassured by the truth. The problem is that you often believe lies, and these lies come from multiple sources. For some of us, we believe the lies that were told to us by others. “You’re not good enough.” “You will never make someone happy.” “You will never stay in a relationship.” We allow the negative things that people have spoken over us to replay in our minds, and it keeps us from living the fulfilled life God wants for us.
Another source of lies comes from our adversary, the devil. His actual name means, “The accuser.” He will often say things like, “Why would God love you?” “You don’t deserve anything from God.” He loves to resurface our past sins and failures. He aims to tempt, to deceive, to accuse, and ultimately to condemn. Jesus taught us that every word that comes out of Satan’s mouth is a twisted lie (John 8:44). If Satan’s lips are moving, you can bet he is lying, and his goal is to influence your life with nothing but negativity and condemnation.
The other source of lies is the hardest to ignore and turn off. It is when we lie to ourselves. It is when we bring ourselves into agreement with the critical and cynical things others have said about us, or the accusations Satan has made against us. We so often tell ourselves things that are not true. We say things like, “If I were worthy of love, I would find it.” “If God loved me, He would answer my prayers.” “If I were a better person, God would be better to me.”
God does not lie (Numbers 23:29, Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2). The beauty of God’s Word is that it is truth (John 17:17). This means whatever the Bible says about me is true. What we must do is align both our thinking and our feelings to the truth of scripture. If God says I am loved, then I need to accept that as truth, whether I feel loved or not. If God says I am accepted by Him, then I need to bring myself into agreement with that, whether I was ever accepted by friends or family or not. What we bring ourselves into agreement with is the outcome we will experience.
The Enemy Uses Shame to Paralyze Faith.
So many people are held hostage by guilt within their hearts, minds, and spirits. Do you know what it is to want to pursue God, but then feel hindered by thoughts and feelings and memories of the past that resurface? This becomes the battlefield. Instead of believing God’s Word, His promises, and His best for me, we are going to shrink back from God because we feel guilt, shame, and condemnation. Because Satan cannot rob your soul or steal the salvation Christ secured for you on the cross, his aim is to stop your faith from growing, keep you from trusting, and prevent you from pursuing God. What he can do is keep you contained within the walls of guilt and shame.
Satan Accuses, but God Sets Us Free.
If Satan’s goal is to erode our faith and confidence in God, then he can contain us to where we no longer grow spiritually. Conversely, if we begin to embrace the truth that we are who God says who we are, we have what God says we have, and we can do what God says we can do, then we bring ourselves into alignment and agreement with the truth of God’s Word. When we step into this truth, Satan has no other hand to play.
Notice 1 John 3:20, “For whenever our heart condemns us…” I really value and appreciate the word, “Whenever.” Scripture does not say if your heart condemns you, as though some people are more spiritual than others, or some struggle with this and others do not. I like the word whenever because it tells me that at some point we are all going to struggle and have to navigate our way through these feelings. So do not think something is wrong with you if your heart feels guilt and condemnation. I would say you are quite normal. The question is, “What do you do with these feelings?”
Once again, we align our thinking and our emotions to the truth of God’s Word. The Bible says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Notice the important word, “Now.” This means that you will not obtain forgiveness one day if you make it to heaven. No! It means that right now in the present tense, you are forgiven with no condemnation over you. Isn’t that an amazing thought? That’s why it’s called amazing grace. Who can experience such a gift from God? “Those who are in Christ Jesus.” This means, are you born again? Are you a child of God? Have you placed your full faith and trust in Jesus for the salvation of your soul? If so, you are in Christ Jesus. If not, you can be today by a simple prayer of faith and repentance.
To move forward in your faith, do not believe what Satan says about you, and do not receive your own negative thoughts and feelings. Instead, bring yourself into agreement with the truth of what God says about you. “For if God be for you, who can be against you?” (Romans 8:31).
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Chad’s pastoral career has not been defined by blindness. Rather, it is his clear, biblical teaching that continues to grow an audience. He has traveled through forty nations, training pastors and strengthening churches.
Today, Chad teaches people to trust a God they cannot see. His days are filled with the things he loves most: leading, speaking, writing, and of course, coffee! He is a spiritual content creator. By God’s grace, he is emerging as a trusted spiritual voice in people’s lives. Chad may have blindness, but blindness does not have him.
