Forgiving Yourself

There are many things we experience in this life that we feel we don't deserve. We live in a fallen world and as you know, life isn’t always “fair.” It’s much easier for us to believe God to get us through when we know our circumstances are of no fault of our own, but what about those times when you've done something you feel was terrible, stupid, or humiliating and you wish you could take it back? It could be something you've said, an impulsive action, sin, poor decisions, repeating or saying something that may have offended and hurt someone or their reputation.

There are so many things we do in life that we wish we wouldn't have done. So, what about those moments when we see the impending consequences of our actions and it's no one's fault but our own? God has made provision for that through the crucifixion of His Son. He's not shocked by our mistakes or our humanity. He knew that was going to be a part of our history and He still has a plan for each of us as we come to Him in repentance, admitting that we messed up and asking Him to forgive us and fix our problems. He is merciful and He’s willing and ready to change the outcome if we will fall on our knees and surrender to His mercy. He is such a good Father. Sometimes there are still some consequences to our actions, but even then He's there to hold our hand as He walks us through the healing process. Then He uses even our worst failures to teach us lessons and build character and strength within us.

The hardest part of failure is forgiving ourselves. The enemy will constantly remind us of our inadequacies in an attempt to destroy us through guilt and condemnation. He tries to get us to focus on our weaknesses instead of God's strength and ability, therefore causing us to shy away from seeking the Father because we think we are too unworthy of His love. It's a lie from the pit of hell! God's arms are always open and whether the mess you are in is your fault or not, He desires to help you and bring you up higher as you surrender your life to Him. Guilt only brings depression and draws us away from God in shame, but repentance brings reconciliation, healing, and freedom! Repent today and look up not back!

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NLT) And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Luke 5:31-32 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Psalm 103:2-4,6,8-12 (TPT) Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me? You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done. You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease. You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love and mercy. Lord, you’re so kind and tenderhearted to those who don’t deserve it and so patient with people who fail you! Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness. You don’t look at us only to find our faults, just so that you can hold a grudge against us. You may discipline us for our many sins, but never as much as we really deserve. Nor do you get even with us for what we’ve done. Higher than the highest heavens—that’s how high your tender mercy extends! Greater than the grandeur of heaven above is the greatness of your loyal love, towering over all

who fear you and bow down before you! Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset—that’s how far you’ve removed our guilt from us.