Just as it once took faith to believe we were as lost as God's Word said we were, so it requires faith to believe we have been forgiven as completely as that Word now says we are. Grace is what Jesus actually gives to us, and not some pleasing sentiment we manufacture about ourselves. Grace is the reason “we reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20). When your life is hid with Christ in God (Col 3:3), there is no other opinion worth considering, not even that of your condemning self. Christ's word of grace about us is always more true than anything we say about our past, our present, or our future. So believe the Lord, and stay in grace.