He Remembers Them No More
I really have tried to remember a time or a moment when God brought up one of my many past sins, but I cannot. It is one of those outrageous aspects of God’s nature and character.
In Psalms 103, He declares, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the Earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” In Micah 7, we are reminded, ”He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Then Hebrews 8:12, “And I will remember their sins no more.”
These verses declare that God is in the business of forgiveness to the point that He will NOT bring those sins back up to you or remind you of past mistakes and failures. The enemy of your soul does that. He is the Devil, and he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking those he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). I am convinced now, more than ever, that he does that through shame and guilt. The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, and yet at times, we feel separated because of guilt and shame.
I am taken back to Exodus 3, where Moses has his first encounter with God. Moses sees a burning bush that is not being consumed, and it draws his attention. As he approaches the bush, God speaks to him and calls his name, “Moses…Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He goes on to say, “I am the God of your father Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob.” After this, it says that Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Quite the different posture later on in chapter 33, where he pleads with God to let him see His face).
God’s next statement to Moses, after he hides his face (shame), is this… “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.”
What?? Did you catch that?
Moses was a wanted fugitive from Egypt, where he murdered an Egyptian taskmaster and then fled. Surely, God would need to address that in Moses before He could send him on such an important assignment. Nope. God completely bypasses the shame Moses was experiencing and explained the need God had of him to be His spokesman to the people of Egypt and Israel. Not once did God say to him, ‘Moses, you killed somebody, I'm gonna need you to sacrifice an offering and repent before I can send you back to Egypt.’
This is wild to me. It wasn't until over in chapter 4, when Moses was preparing to go back to Egypt, that we see God say to him, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." Now, I'm not suggesting that there are no consequences for our actions, because at times there are, but the point I am making about this story is that God did not feel the need to remind Moses of his past sins and actions. God speaks to it in a way that lets Moses know He knows, but He did not bring it up in a condemning way.
The shame Moses felt at the burning bush was the immediate recognition of God being Holy and man being sinful, which we all feel. We are not going to bypass that feeling, especially when God’s glory is manifest in our midst. I think one of the things we are going to have to come to grips with in moving forward with our relationship with God is the fact that we will and should feel the weight of our sin in God’s manifest presence, but it is not meant to keep us in shame. That feeling was meant to keep us in the fear of the Lord. We must recognize that God is Holy, and His glory fills the temple. The good news is that God will not bring up past sins with the requirement that you have to do something else to be forgiven. Through the blood of Jesus, we have been forgiven of our sins and cleansed from ALL unrighteousness
JOURNAL: Are you being tormented by past sins? Recognize that it is either from the enemy or yourself. Take some time to confess those sins and ask that they be washed in the blood. Imagine God throwing them into the sea where He will remember them no more. Also take some time to offer yourself forgiveness. Pledge that you will not dwell on that sin ever again unless God brings it up, and I can almost assure you that He won’t.
In Psalms 103, He declares, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the Earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” In Micah 7, we are reminded, ”He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Then Hebrews 8:12, “And I will remember their sins no more.”
These verses declare that God is in the business of forgiveness to the point that He will NOT bring those sins back up to you or remind you of past mistakes and failures. The enemy of your soul does that. He is the Devil, and he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking those he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). I am convinced now, more than ever, that he does that through shame and guilt. The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, and yet at times, we feel separated because of guilt and shame.
I am taken back to Exodus 3, where Moses has his first encounter with God. Moses sees a burning bush that is not being consumed, and it draws his attention. As he approaches the bush, God speaks to him and calls his name, “Moses…Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He goes on to say, “I am the God of your father Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob.” After this, it says that Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Quite the different posture later on in chapter 33, where he pleads with God to let him see His face).
God’s next statement to Moses, after he hides his face (shame), is this… “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.”
What?? Did you catch that?
Moses was a wanted fugitive from Egypt, where he murdered an Egyptian taskmaster and then fled. Surely, God would need to address that in Moses before He could send him on such an important assignment. Nope. God completely bypasses the shame Moses was experiencing and explained the need God had of him to be His spokesman to the people of Egypt and Israel. Not once did God say to him, ‘Moses, you killed somebody, I'm gonna need you to sacrifice an offering and repent before I can send you back to Egypt.’
This is wild to me. It wasn't until over in chapter 4, when Moses was preparing to go back to Egypt, that we see God say to him, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." Now, I'm not suggesting that there are no consequences for our actions, because at times there are, but the point I am making about this story is that God did not feel the need to remind Moses of his past sins and actions. God speaks to it in a way that lets Moses know He knows, but He did not bring it up in a condemning way.
The shame Moses felt at the burning bush was the immediate recognition of God being Holy and man being sinful, which we all feel. We are not going to bypass that feeling, especially when God’s glory is manifest in our midst. I think one of the things we are going to have to come to grips with in moving forward with our relationship with God is the fact that we will and should feel the weight of our sin in God’s manifest presence, but it is not meant to keep us in shame. That feeling was meant to keep us in the fear of the Lord. We must recognize that God is Holy, and His glory fills the temple. The good news is that God will not bring up past sins with the requirement that you have to do something else to be forgiven. Through the blood of Jesus, we have been forgiven of our sins and cleansed from ALL unrighteousness
JOURNAL: Are you being tormented by past sins? Recognize that it is either from the enemy or yourself. Take some time to confess those sins and ask that they be washed in the blood. Imagine God throwing them into the sea where He will remember them no more. Also take some time to offer yourself forgiveness. Pledge that you will not dwell on that sin ever again unless God brings it up, and I can almost assure you that He won’t.
We'd love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments what God is speaking to you as you read these devotionals. If you haven't already subscribed to receive our devotional emails right to your inbox, hit the subscribe button below and invite your family and friends to subscribe as well! Thank you for being a part of our Opendoor Devotional Community. We appreciate you!
Posted in The Glory
1 Comment
Thank you for giving a new perspective on this story.