Forgotten
You struck off the debts in the books
Debts that held me with deep hooks
Things that held me in their thrall
You shredded and burned them all
You poured the ashes into the sea called Forgotten.
You said, “Dear child, I’ve paid in full, now you owe nothing.”
But woefully weak, wretched me!
I willfully went out to that sea
I scooped up the ashes I could find
Preserving them in two bottles in my mind
I labelled one bottle ‘Guilt’ and the other ‘Shame’
I kept them as attached to me as my very name
Again, You came and took them from me,
Burying them in a land far away and out of sight
Again, I paddled my rickety boat through the tumultuous sea,
Through the dark, to the burial site.
Because I loved to nurture the disgrace and pick at my scars
I dug up my guilt and shame, dividing them into five jars.
Still, You came and took the jars from me
You nailed them out of reach on the tree
You said, “Dear child, I’ve taken your guilt and shame with me,
What I bear you need not bear, for it is you I came to redeem.”
Thank you, Abba, for your mercy, it’s the deepest
It’s so wide, as far as the East is from the West
Thank you for your grace and peace extended to me
Lord, I now live to worship you and will do so perpetually.
Wordspiration
This poem is inspired by Colossians 2:13–15, Psalm 103:12; 130:3–4, Micah 7:19, and Job 11:16.
Many believers struggle because they keep returning to the very things Christ died to free them from—fear, guilt, condemnation, lust, worldly desires. These are the enemy’s tools, designed to enslave and pull us backwards.
Yet in Christ, we are no longer bound. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus cancelled the record of debt that stood against us. He disarmed the powers of darkness and gave us the right to live free. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions.
Still, we often cling to guilt and shame, nurturing old wounds Christ has already healed. But we must let go. The sea of Forgotten is not ours to revisit. Our past is not our portion.
Today, choose freedom. Refuse to dwell on yesterday. Walk in the liberty Christ purchased. Live in obedience, not to earn His love, but because you already have it. There’s victory in surrender.
Prayer
Father God, thank you that I am free from every entanglement of sin and death. Thank you for casting my sins into the depths of the sea and nailing every accusation to the cross.
Help me, Lord, to stop returning to what you’ve already destroyed. May I no longer dabble in iniquity or carry guilt, you’ve already erased. Teach me to walk daily in the fullness of Christ, to live victoriously by obeying You in thought, word, and deed. Let my life reflect the freedom and mercy I’ve received. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
