“If God has truly forgiven my sins, why do I still feel guilty?”

It may be the oldest question of the life of faith—the dissonance between our feelings and the promises of God.

The lies we told; the cutting words; the heartache that we caused someone in haste or greed—all these we have confessed as wrong, and asked for promised pardon. But still we feel the unrelenting weight, as though our prayers were never heard.

“Let God be true though every man be false” (Rom 3:4). The promise of forgiveness is underwritten by His vow: “If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). “By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 Jn 3:19-20).

God’s Word about us is always more trustworthy than our words about us. Believe the grace that makes you right with heaven. And stay in it. -Bill Knott