We Must Forgive Ourselves

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In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” -- Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how sometimes the hardest one to forgive is ourselves. There are sinful situations from my past that still replay in my mind. And I could name many who I’m positive have yet to forgive themselves over a choice they made years, even decades, ago. You can see it clearly when you know what you’re looking for. The body holds, and reveals, all. Physical ailments, or chronic illness, that is hard to explain. Their lack of joy. Lack of hope. The weariness of life the wear on their faces. You can tell they’re wounded, in pain, seeking something just out of reach, desperate for something in their life to change, for their circumstances to get better…

And then… they reveal the incident, the sin, the shame, from their past that they cannot forgive themselves over.

The book of Hebrews likens unforgiveness to a bitter root planted in your body, mind, and spirit that causes all sorts of trouble. (“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:15 NIV) We often think of this verse in terms of forgiving others who have wronged us, that we need not withhold forgiveness and therefore hinder ourselves from moving forward. You’ve likely heard the saying, “Unforgiveness is like setting yourself on fire and hoping the other person dies from smoke inhalation.”

But what happens when the person you need to forgive is yourself?

What happens when that unforgiveness inside means you’ve set yourself on fire and are also hoping you die from smoke intake?

God makes it clear that no sin perpetrated is greater than His ability to forgive it. In fact, one of my favorite verses, one I can’t really wrap my head around, is Isaiah 43:25 (NIV), “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” God loves us so much and wants no barriers between us that He erases our sins from His mind! Once we ask for His forgiveness over our sin, His gaze at us sees them no more.

So why do we keep seeing them? Why do we hold onto them like a lifeline even though they’re literally killing us? His death on the Cross covered that sin, those sins, so that we can live a healed and redemptive life glorifying Him. Don’t take that away from Him! We must bask in its truth and forgive ourselves. Then receive His grace and spread it to everyone.

Question for Reflection:

What sin(s) of yours are you withholding forgiveness from? Tell Jesus about them and let Him redeem you for His own sake today.