True confession. I have sin. I sin in my thoughts, my actions, my words, you name it. I even sin when I do not know that I am sinning, so you can just imagine how grateful I am that God is forgiving. Forgiving can be defined as willing or ready to excuse an error or offense. Psalm 103:5 says, “He forgives all my sins.”

What I love about God’s forgiveness is that it is not limited to the kind of sins that I commit or when I commit those sins. His forgiveness is encompassing. “He forgives all my sins.” All means the whole, entire, total amount, quantity, or extent of my sins. This includes my past, present, and future sins. It includes sins that I commit consciously or subconsciously. None of my sins are excluded from God’s forgiveness. This makes me extremely happy!

God’s forgiveness is available to everyone regardless of who they are and what they have done. I am a product of God’s forgiveness and I know of many others who are too, but if you are not acquainted with anyone, I would like to introduce you to a woman with a sordid past. This woman, whose name is not mentioned in scripture, was accused of adultery. In those days, the penalty for adultery was death by stoning.

The religious leaders brought her to Jesus to hear what He had to say about how she should be punished, but Jesus’ answer defied their expectations. Jesus said to the woman’s accusers, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her” (John 8:8). At Jesus’ words, those who had gathered to accuse this woman disappeared, and only Jesus and the woman remained. The accusers were obviously reminded that they were sinners too. Jesus said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” The woman said, “No, Lord.”  “Neither do I”, said Jesus. “Go and sin no more” (John 8:10-11). This woman’s story puts a smile on my face because, through Jesus’ actions, you get to really see that God is forgiving even when humans are unforgiving.

Now, how long does it take God to forgive sins? A year, six months, ten days, one hour, five minutes? God’s forgiveness is instant. Yes, you heard me correctly. When Jesus was on the cross, one of the criminals turned to Him and said, “Lord, remember me when thou come into thy kingdom” In response, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23: 42-43). This man’s forgiveness was instant. There are other examples too, such as when the people in Nineveh repented. So here is the good news! Because God’s forgiveness is instant, you don’t have to spend years asking for forgiveness for something you did thirty years ago. If you asked for forgiveness thirty years ago for something you did wrong, you were forgiven then. You are forgiven now, and you will be forgiven in the future.

You may be someone who feels like God’s forgiveness is out of your reach because of all the sins you have. Well, let me encourage you. There is no sin that is greater than God’s ability to forgive. Remember, the Psalmist says, “He forgives all my sins.” Today, I invite you to humble yourself, confess your sins, pray to God, seek God continually, and turn from sinful behavior, and you will obtain God’s forgiveness. Proverbs 28:13 says, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy” (NLT).