When I first created the forgiveness category for this blog, I always imagined I’d use it to talk about the heavy, painful side of things. I thought I’d be writing about the struggle to forgive people who hurt us, how to heal, and how incredibly hard, yet necessary, forgiveness is.
But as I sat down to reflect on my week, God completely shifted my heart.
I don’t want to talk about how hard it is for us to forgive today. Instead, I want to talk about the overwhelming reality of God’s forgiveness for us.
Blessings in the Midst of Imperfection
To be completely transparent with you all, I’ve been hit hard by God’s goodness this week. I have watched blessing after blessing show up in my life over the last few days, and if I’m being entirely honest, it has brought me to my knees because I know I haven’t been in full obedience to Him lately.
Have you ever been there? You know you’ve fallen short. You know you’ve sinned, dragged your feet on something He asked you to do, or let distraction pull you away from Him.
And yet, instead of turning His back, He pours out a blessing.
It makes no sense to our human minds. We expect punishment and lectures. We think we have to earn His goodness. But this week has been a beautiful, humbling reminder that just because we fall short and sin, the Lord still doesn’t give up on us. He still loves us, and He still has a massive, beautiful plan for our lives.
A Savior of Second Chances
We serve a Savior who has forgiven us over and over again. Think about the depth of that for a second. Although we continuously stumble, compromise, and sometimes go completely against Him, the moment we turn back toward Him, He isn’t standing there with a pointed finger or a lecture.
He is standing there with completely open arms, welcoming us back home. The Bible beautifully captures this steady, stubborn love in Romans 5:8:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
He didn’t wait for us to be perfectly obedient to offer forgiveness. He offered it while we were still failing—while we were still in our idolatry and rebellion.
This week, I’ve had the song “God I’m Just Grateful” by Elevation Worship on repeat. There is a line in it that perfectly captures this feeling of being overwhelmed by His mercy when we know we don’t deserve it:
“Even though I don’t deserve it, You did it!
Even though I couldn’t earn it, You give it!
Who am I that You keep me on Your mind?
God, I’m just grateful for You”
A Safety Net, Not a License to Sin
I want to make sure I make it clear that His forgiveness isn’t a license for us to keep sinning, but it is a safety net when we fall. It’s the proof that His love for you is based on who He is, not how perfect you can be. He truly is the God of chance after chance.
But He also knows our hearts. If we are in intentional rebellion against Him and His way for our lives, then His mercy will run short. He’s not a man that you can play in His face or trick.
He sees us and He knows us. He knows when we’re actually trying and when we’re abusing His grace. I never want to be one to abuse His grace, because I know good and well that I need it every single day.
🤍 Let’s Chat in the Comments
Where have you seen God’s goodness or blessings this week, even in a season where you feel like you’ve fallen short? Let’s use the comments today as a space to just be incredibly grateful for His open arms.
If this message reminded you of how deeply you are loved today, share it with a friend who might need a reminder of God’s unconditional forgiveness, too!
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