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“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12

Here comes another one of those moments of transparency: I am getting forgetful. Thankfully, this is not applicable to my work—somehow, I manage to keep all my plates, cats, and fiery batons in the air and move from one thing to another like a tapdancing hip-hop dancer. Instead, my memory lapses occur when I walk out of one room and into another only to pause and think, “Wait, what was going to do?” Or when I plop down on the couch and put on a House Hunters episode only to hear my husband say, “We saw this one.” To which I respond, “Maybe we did, but I don’t remember which one they picked, so I’ll watch it again.” (Can I get an “Amen” out there?)

Honestly, any kind of forgetfulness can be both frustrating and frightening. It makes us wonder if it’s a health concern—those of you who have a loved one with any level of dementia have experienced this awfulness firsthand. Or maybe it’s simply a matter of over-multitasking in our boundaryless virtual world. (Sometimes I think that, for me, memorizing hundreds of song lyrics during the 1980s might also have something to do with it.)

Ah, but there is a forgetfulness that we can celebrate: the forgetfulness of God.

Let me pause here to emphatically interject that God will never forget you, no matter how alone you feel (Isaiah 49:15). He will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). The Lord is with you always (Matthew 28:20).

So, what does God forget? His love is so great for us, that He promises to forgive our sins and remove them from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:10-12). Think about it…that’s an endless distance. No matter how “east” you go, you’ll never start heading “west.”

That being said, God’s forgetfulness requires that we initiate this amazing grace-filled transaction—our Heavenly Father will not force us to choose Him or His way. First, we must recognize that we have sinned and admit that we are sinners! (Romans 3:23). Then, we must ask for the Lord’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9) and repent—that is, turn away from them and go in a different direction (Acts 3:19). Cue heavenly celebration (Luke 15:7).

And here’s the best part, once forgiven, you are free from the shackles of that sin (Romans 6:18, John 8:36, Isaiah 61:1)! The Lord will remember your sin no more (Hebrews 8:12), and He will not bring it back up with you to rehash the details or discourage you with it. (Now, be careful, because Satan will do all that, but that’s another blog.)

Isn’t God absolutely awesome? He loves us, and He will never forget us, leave us, or forsake us. But, sweet sisters, He will forget our sin.

“Lord, I am so grateful for Your forgetfulness when it comes to my sinfulness. May I never forget Your grace and mercy, so I remember to extend it to others.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life