Yesterday, I was thinking about algorithms on social media and how they seem to track us. This morning, after letting Tori out and feeding her – and getting my morning brew – I turned on my computer (yes, overnight the algorithms had been busy trying to figure out what I might be coaxed into buying today), when I remembered that I hadn’t checked my emails on my personal email account for several days. That was a mistake!
So, this morning’s first task has been to hit delete, delete, delete … over 100 times. And that, of course, got me thinking about how many times God has hit the delete button when it comes to me. Not deleting me from his “contacts” list and not deleting me from further contact, but deleting all of the things I’ve done and said that have disappointed him or let him down. Delete. Over and over and over again.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps. 103:12). “For I will forgive and remember their sins no more.” (Heb. 8:12).
There’s almost a strange relief, a sense of accomplishment, to deleting. A browser history. Old text message. An embarrassing post. A photo we wish had never been taken. There’s comfort in making something disappear.
But perhaps that instinct runs deeper than technology. It’s human nature to try to hide what we regret. Adam and Eve hid in the garden. David tried to hide his sin with Bathsheba. Peter ran away after denying Jesus.
We know ourselves too well, and we fear being fully seen … whether by God or by others. Certain words we’ve spoken in anger or frustration still echo in our minds and sting. Certain choices still ache. Our memories linger, even long after everyone else has forgotten them.
But the grace of God isn’t built upon pretending those things never happened. God doesn’t heal us through denial. He heals us through redemption. The psalmist says God removes our transgressions “as far as the east is from the west.” Not ignored. Not minimized. Removed. Gone. Forgotten. Carried away by mercy.
The internet may remember everything, even what we think we’ve deleted, but God isn’t like that. God’s forgiveness not only completely, totally, and successfully deletes the past, but it also offers the possibility of a new start.
And perhaps one of the holiest things we can do is stop reopening files God has already deleted and forgiven.
Prayer: Merciful God, thank you for meeting me with grace instead of condemnation. Help me release the shame I continue to carry and trust the forgiveness and understanding you freely give. Teach me to live as someone forgiven, redeemed, and made new in Christ. Amen.
