“Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. – Isaiah 1:18, WEB
No matter how good we are or how holy we tried to be, there is some part of ourselves that’s burdened by past mistakes. It is that part that never quite goes away even though we try again and again to cover it or to deny that it even exists.
There is some part in ourselves that need to be forgiven, some part in our hearts that long to be freed from guilt. We need someone else to declare that our sins have indeed been blotted out, that they have been swept away. We need to hear it. We need to know that we are no longer being blamed.
Take heart, O soul. For your God is ever ready to relieve you from pain. Through a repentant heart, you obtain in Him freedom, you obtain forgiveness from all your sins. You are not blamed, you are not condemned. On the contrary, you are embraced, you are welcomed in great delight, you are loved!
It’s toughest to forgive ourselves. So it’s probably best to start with other people. It’s almost like peeling an onion. Layer by layer, forgiving others, you really do get to the point where you can forgive yourself. – Patty Duke
Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. – Peter Ustinov
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"