Day 13
Week 2 Day 13: Intimacy Is Fostered through Forgiveness - Removing All Hindrances
When someone has hurt us, be it by actions or words, it causes a separation, a change in relationship. Feelings of betrayal, fear of being hurt, outrage that they would treat you in the way they did make it difficult to not view your relationship differently. It impacts your level of intimacy with them. You may go so far as to stop speaking to them, being with them, even writing them off.
And, so goes our circumstance with God. Our sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:2 paints a very bleak picture, “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Not so different to how we react to others who have hurt us, we avoid them (hide our face), we don’t associate or talk to them (does not hear). Our sin has destroyed our ability to approach God, to draw near to him, which is the opposite of God’s original intent in creating us. He wanted us to be with him, see his face, talk with him, have a deep and intimate relationship with him, father and child. Sin has separated us from our intended relationship with God. It is a chasm that cannot be crossed. We caused it, and we can’t fix it. But God…
Rom 5:8 tells us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God opens a door to restore relationship, intimacy with him, to renew that which has been destroyed and corrupted. And he did this before we acted, before we acknowledged him, before we came to him in repentance and asking for forgiveness, before we changed our ways. His love. His mercy. His grace. His desire, to be united with you again.
And he did this through the sacrifice, the death of his son Jesus. Heb 10:12 “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” Jesus was rejected, mocked, tortured, and killed on the cross as an offering for our sins, an atonement for our sins, so we could be forgiven and our relationship with God restored.
We have been saved by grace, through faith (Eph 2:8-9). It’s a gift from God if we repent and believe, returning to God. So, in spite of what we saw in Isa 59:2, Ps 103:10-13 tells us, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him, as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” We need to take to heart the following:
We don’t get what we deserve for our sin, we get mercy
His love for us is higher than the heavens
His love is steadfast (persistent) for those who believe and return to him
Our sins are not only forgiven, they are forgotten and removed from us
God sees us as his children, treats us as his children
But, you say, how can I continue in this restored relationship and intimacy with God when I continue to struggle and fall? I sin. In fact, there are strongholds of sin that are deep and I can’t seem to leave them behind even though I want to. You feel that once you have believed, returned to God and received this forgiveness, how can he still have relationship with me since I continue to do that which separated me from God in the first place?
The facts are, Jesus' sacrifice did not just cover your sins up to the day of your salvation. No, God is not constrained by time, he knew all the sins you would commit from birth to death, and Jesus' sacrifice covers all sin for all time. Heb 10:14 gives us this hope, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
Jesus’s sacrifice was once, for all time. No further or future sacrifices are needed
He perfected us. This is past tense - it has been done, we are forgiven and cleansed, sins removed and paid for. We are perfect in God’s sight
For all time. This is future - our whole life, birth to death, not just your birth to the date you turned back to God
Those who are being sanctified. This is current tense – we are in process, being set apart as holy for God
This doesn’t mean that we should live to sin. Rather it shows how complete God’s forgiveness and salvation is. It covers our continued weaknesses and failings. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So when Satan, or your own hearts try to tell you God has had enough of you, you’ve sinned one too many times and he’s written you off, this is a lie. The sacrifice of Jesus covers all sins for all time. God’s got you in his hands, and nothing can take you from him (Jn 10:29).
Forgiveness has another part to it. Our lack of forgiveness toward others (or ourselves) can also impede our intimacy with God. Our hurt, bitterness towards others becomes a virus that hurts us more than it will ever hurt or punish the person it is directed towards. In addition, as we become more deeply aware of God’s forgiveness of us, and how that same sacrifice and forgiveness was offered to all mankind, how can we stand before God and say, “even though you gave your life as a sacrifice to bring forgiveness for their sins and all they have done… I don’t forgive them, I can’t.” God wants us to be like him as his children. We need to offer the same mercy, grace, and forgiveness to those God has. Free yourself and forgive. Extend the mercy and grace God has given you. God will help you do this and cleanse you in the process.
Intimacy and forgiveness are intertwined. Sin ends intimacy. Forgiveness allows restoration to intimacy. So, as you are fasting, as you approach God, seeking his face, lifting up your prayers, if you have asked for forgiveness and forgive those who have sinned against you, you can be assured of intimacy with him. His face will not be hidden; his ears will not be closed. You have intimacy with God through forgiveness, this is truth. Draw near to him. Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Listening Prayer: Father, I ask you to search my heart and let me know if there is anything I need to repent of, any sin within me. Is there anyone I need to forgive?
Prayer: Father, thank you for the sacrifice Jesus made for me, to pay for my sins. Thank you for your mercy, grace and love that pursued me first and opened a door to restore relationship with you. Thank you that you have forgiven all my sins, past, present, and future. And not only forgiven, but forgotten my sins, cleansed and purified me, removed them. Thank you that I can draw near to you, speak with you, be heard by you, and loved by you. Thank you that I am your child, deeply loved and protected. Forgive me for my sin (name them), and help me, strengthen me, transform me, so I do not do them again. When I’m tempted, empower me with your Spirit to stand against the temptation, to say no. And God, I forgive (name them) for what they did. I hand them to you to do with them as you decide in your justice, mercy and grace. I release them and the (name the emotions/feelings) caused by them. Cleanse me from this hurt, heal me, and restore my heart and mind so I will no longer be in bondage to this issue.
Resources: Bible Verses on Intimacy Through Forgiveness
Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God forgave you.”
Ephesians 2: 8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Worship Song: