As we deepen our understanding of knowledge and love for God, we begin to get a glimpse of how deep the Father’s love for us truly goes. The more we understand that, the more we grow in our identity in Him, the more confidence and boldness we gain when approaching the throne of God.
One aspect of this is to really believe that your sins have been forgiven, and continue to be. Jesus died for you. He suffered for you. He wept for you. He felt the full effect of your sins on that cross. I can’t fathom how great His suffering really went for you and me, but I know that it is more than any human will ever be able to fathom. That is for our protection, because no one would be able to handle the weight of grief and guilt over it.
The beautiful gift of that, is that it is completed. There’s no needing to take back the guilt and shame of what we’ve done. Jesus, in His perfect state, was sufficient enough of a sacrifice to free us. He was not only the perfect sacrifice, He is our continual advocate before the Father, which means that the Father always sees us as pure in His sight.
This doesn’t mean that we get to say a prayer and move on with life, enjoying all the pleasures of the world and living however we want to. That would be throwing God’s gift back in His face. If we’re followers of Jesus, we want to live a life that is honouring to Him. That’s why He’s given us His Spirit to help change us to be more like Jesus. To thirst after a righteous life. To show our appreciation and love for the sacrifice He made for us.
Even if our sins have been forgiven, it’s the enemy’s passion to make us think that we are still bound by shame. Many of us feel it from all our past regrets.
I have not lived a good and perfect life. I chose to put others above God, thinking that I would find the love I needed in them instead of Him. I trusted man instead of trusting God. That failed me. It left me feeling guilt and shame. I came to the Lord with my proverbial tail between my legs, embarrassed for the mess I had created. I lived with shame for years.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” – 1 John 1:9 (emphasis added)
But God, in His perfect grace, love, and forgiveness, began to clean up my mess. He reminded me of Jesus’ sacrifice on my behalf. He began a healing process in my life that repaired the wounds I bore. The more He restored me, the greater my confidence and assurance of Him grew in my life. My identity was restored once again and I knew that those past mistakes no longer mattered. But deep down, I still looked back and felt sad for hurting God.
“This is how we will know we belong to the truth and will convince our conscience in His presence, even if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience, and He knows all things.
Dear friends, if our conscience doesn’t condemn us, we have confidence before God and can receive whatever we ask from Him because we keep His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight” – 1 John 3:19-22
My conscience may try to hold my past sins under condemnation. It may try to steal my right to go before God. But the Lord tells me that I don’t have to believe it. As a follower of Jesus, I am no longer condemned. I am free. I am a child of God. Therefore, I can go to Him in confidence, just as I approach my earthly Father. My respect of God keeps me humbled, and my love for Him, keeps me thirsting for more of Him. Together in these attributes, I can boldly stand before the Lord, knowing who I am and who He is. As I grow in my freedom, and as the Spirit continues to change me to be like Jesus, the more my confidence will grow before Him. The more I know that my prayers will align with His desires. The more I’ll identify the work He is doing in and around me. The more my love, knowledge, and relationship will develop. Until the point where I will be standing “close to the pins” (see last week’s post – Knowing and Loving God), and walking very intimately with my Father.
You can have this too. He loves you the very same that He loves me. There are no favourites with God. You and I are equal in His eyes. His love for you overflows beyond your comprehension. Get into the Bible consistently and get to know the Lord. Fall in love with Him by the experiential knowledge and understanding that you gain from the Spirit’s work within you. Shake off the shame that doesn’t belong in your life anymore. Walk closer to God, stand up in confidence, and enjoy the riches of a deep intimacy with Him.
“So now little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” – 1 John 2:28-29
What a day that will be when all things finally make perfect sense; when we stand in complete love, peace, forgiveness, understanding, and boldness as Jesus reaches out His hand to take us home. I know that I will stand with confidence on that day, as I continuously work alongside the Spirit to align my life with Christ’s. Oh, how I deeply desire that for you as well. Will you make the necessary changes and ask the Spirit to work within you to walk more closely with Jesus? To build your confidence in Him, so that you will stand with boldness at His coming too?
