God is willing and waiting to forgive us. We only need to ask.

My wife was boiling some rice for me to eat with stew for dinner. She began teasing me that I could not cook simple, plain rice. So I told her I would take over cooking the rice, and she should go to bed.

While pouring the rice into a sieve to wash after pre-boiling, I spilt rice all over the sink. I knew she would be back soon to check on my progress, and I didn’t want her to see the mess after all the bragging I had done.

I quickly flushed the spilt rice down the drain and left no evidence. The rice was cooked, dished and served. And the chef(me) was complimented.

I was successful in hiding the evidence because my wife cannot be everywhere at the same time, and there are no CCTV cameras in the kitchen.

God, however, saw what happened in that kitchen. He saw me spill the rice. He saw me hide the evidence.

In Jeremiah 23:24, God asks, “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?”

We can successfully hide our sins from our family, neighbours and friends. But we cannot hide it from God.

He sees the sin and the guilt we feel, and He wants to take both from us. He is waiting for us to acknowledge that we need His help. He will not force Himself on us.

Isaiah 30:18 says, “So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.”

What do we need to do for God to forgive us?

Return to God

The first step is to go back to the Father. In Zechariah 1:3, God says, “Return to me, and I will return to you”. The prodigal son, when he realised how foolish he had been, went back to his father’s house and got a warm welcome from his father.

2. Confess your sins

‭‭Proverbs 28:13 says, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” David initially tried to hide his sin by killing Uriah, but it was not until he finally confessed his sin that he was forgiven and his guilt taken away. (PS 32:5)

3. Be truly repentant

Psalms 51:17 says, “God will not reject a broken and repentant heart.” In Isaiah 57:15, we see that ‘God lives in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.’

To receive forgiveness, you have to be truly repentant. You have to regret the things you have done. ‭‭Jeremiah 31:19 says, “I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’

We all sin and ‘if we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves’(1 John 1:8).

There’s no sin too big or too small for God to forgive, and He is willing to forgive us. In Jeremiah 3:12 NLT‬‬, He said, “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.” God has no desire to see us perish. He “takes no pleasure in the death of wicked people”. (Ezekiel 33:11)

Instead, he is always ‘devising ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.’ (2 Samuel 14:14).

Why? Because He loves us. God loves us so much that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for us so that whoever believes in Him will not die. (John 3:16). He did this so that people could repent of their sins and be forgiven. (Acts 5:31)

Because of this sacrifice, we can now come boldly to God’s throne to receive mercy and grace when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:16)

I pray that God forgives us all as we return to Him.