Letting God Lead Devotions – January 7th

Scripture: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19

Observation: This is such a powerful chapter that Isaiah was inspired to write. God is reminding His people who He is! No matter what they had faced, God had always delivered them. Here, the reminder is that God continues to be the Saviour of His people even when they continually sin against Him. God was always there, ready to forgive and restore.

Application: I was recently reminded that when God forgives us, it is a forever forgiveness. The Bible tells us that when God forgives, all of our sins are cast “into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19), and that He “… will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

Sometimes we don’t let God forgive! In truth, we can’t stop God from forgiving us when we ask, but there are times we hold on to the sin we’ve sought forgiveness for and repeatedly go back to Him again and again asking for the same forgiveness for the same sin. His Word tell us in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The truth is that once I ask Him to forgive me, He does exactly that. It’s a done deal!

So why do we repeatedly ask God to forgive us for something we’ve already brought to Him? We seek the alleviation of the guilt that accompanies sin. Unfortunately, sin has its consequences even when forgiven, and one of those consequences is guilt. Just because we are forgiven doesn’t mean the guilt automatically disappears. When the guilt resurfaces, we feel compelled to seek forgiveness for that sin again because we think if we feel bad, we must not have been forgiven. But the truth is… God forgave the moment we asked, AND He has FORGOTTEN those sins. We must hold on to the truth of God’s Word and remember that God never does anything half-way! When He forgives, we are 100% forgiven!

When an individual asks Jesus to forgive their sins and become their Lord and Saviour, He makes that person new in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” We may look the same on the outside, but inward, we are changed! Our hearts begin to align with God’s heart, and we have a different perspective when it comes to sin. We begin to understand that sin, no matter how “harmless” it may seem, can have consequences that endanger us, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This helps us strive to avoid sin… to take the way of escape that God always provides. 1 Corinthians 10:13 confirms this, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” The more we learn and apply God’s Word to our lives, the closer we become to being a person “after God’s own heart”.

As we study the Bible, we’ll find verse after verse about the joys of salvation and God’s forgiveness. Psalm 103:12 states, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Let us not wallow in the sins of our past. They are gone, washed away by the blood of Christ.

Let God lead you this year on a new path… the path of assurance that your sins have been forgiven once and for all! With that blessed assurance, we can move forward in 2026 learning more about Him, growing more in our own walk with Him, and sharing Him with others!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the assurance that when You forgive, I am truly forgiven! Thank You that Jesus paid for my sins on the cross, and I am a recipient of His salvation and Your gift of everlasting life! It’s good to be a child of God! In Jesus’ name, I pray! Amen!

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

(from “Blessed Assurance” by Fanny Crosby)

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“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” – Isaiah 43:18