I remember talking to the Lord one time about a sin that I knew I had committed in my heart. While talking to Him, He interrupted me and said, “I forgive you.” I remember thinking, “But I haven’t even asked for forgiveness yet, yet You said I’m forgiven before I even asked for it.” It was a powerful moment for me because I was reminded of His heart of grace and the fact that according to His finished work, I was already forgiven before I had even sinned. Later that day I was pondering that reality and was simply wrecked at the thought of how inconceivable His predetermined love is. Again, in that moment, He spoke in me (to me) and said, “At the cross asked for your forgiveness before you ever asked for it.” I suddenly remembered Luke 23:34 when, while hanging on the cross, 2000 years before I was even born, Jesus said, “But Jesus was saying, (imperfect tense which means he had been continually saying that) Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Consciously owning our sin is important because transformation is accelerated in the context of repentance, and repentance (thinking in union with Him) happens when we “catch the little foxes,” but forgiveness for what we’ve done is a decision He’s already made.
