God Promises Forgiveness
How does it feel to be forgiven?
Verse of the Day
‘Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.’
Today’s Devotional
Have you noticed that some of the promises of God are conditional? That seems like a negative to some people, but to me it makes perfect sense. When I think about my daughters, there are some benefits of our family that they only have access to if they are doing their part. For my daughter that is in college, we are only willing to pay for classes that she passes. We are not willing to pay for her to fail classes that she is perfectly capable of passing. And that is just one example of a conditional benefit.
God lists several conditions for us in this one verse. They are:
- Being called by God’s name – meaning we are believers and we acknowledge that God is God.
- That we humble ourself.
- That we pray to Him.
- That we seek His face.
- That we turn from any behaviors that do not honor Him.
Once we have done those things, God opens the floodgates of heaven to pour into our lives. First he promises to hear us. Can you imagine yourself standing before the throne of an earthly king and he gives you his full attention? That’s the image in my mind of our heavenly King as he promises to hear me. He is listening. He is not distracted. He is laser focused on what I am saying to Him. Which is then another condition: I must be talking to Him for Him to be listening.
Next He promises to forgive our sins. Have you ever asked forgiveness from another human and that forgiveness was given freely and lovingly? It is one of the most freeing feelings. It brings cleansing and restoration. It gives you hope. It makes you want to live a life that is worthy of such gracious forgiveness. God is offering those things to each of us. He is offering to wipe the slate clean. He is offering to cancel our debt to Him.
The last promise of this verse is that God will heal our land. Is there anything that we need more right now? I believe this is a collective promise, for when a group of people decide to collectively take the steps listed above. But I also believe that God offers this healing individually. Or within a family. I have experience in my own life of what happens when I took similar steps and it restored the “land” within my family and relationships. I see this happening with other individuals frequently. We all have a “land” of our own, and God is offering restoration. Because with any situation or relationship that is broken, the only person I can control is myself. Can you imagine the healing and restoration that would occur if each person in any group took these steps?
I pray that our country and communities would walk through the steps for restoration. But for today, I will start with me. If hurting people hurt people, then healing and restored people will certainly pave the way for others to experience healing and restoration. There is freedom in believing God’s promise of forgiveness.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Which of the conditional steps do you need to take today?
Do you need to make the decision to be called by God’s name?
Do you need to humble yourself before God?
Do you need to pray?
Do you need to seek God’s face?
Is there something you need to turn from?
How can you thank God today for His offer to hear you, forgive you, and restore you?
What areas of your life need restoration?