I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 43:25, NKJV
If you have ever watched a congressional hearing on television, you are likely familiar with the sentence, “I have no recollection of that ever happening, Senator.” The witness neither affirms nor denies that an event took place, but merely confesses the inability to remember anything about it. With God, the situation is very different. He is certainly able to remember our sins, but He is not willing.
Forty-five years ago, Barbra Streisand recorded a hauntingly nostalgic song that would win an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe. The third stanza informs us that “memories may be beautiful, and yet, what’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget.” This is what our merciful God does with our sins after we confess. He chooses to forget them. God has no recollection that your confessed sins ever happened at all.