Are you spending too much time beating yourself up? If so, it's time
to stop! In a series of talks entitled 'Beauty for Ashes', Christian
speaker Joyce Meyer says 'don't waste time on things that produce
nothing good in your life.
Stop doing things that don't help you progress.' For many reasons we
can think badly about ourselves. Guilt, anger and shame are just a
few. Joyce compares them to living life in a rocking chair: 'the
thoughts will keep you busy, tire you out, but get you nowhere! You'll
go through life, simply rocking back and forth in your own misery.'
God doesn't want you to feel bad about yourself and confession deals
with it. First John 1:9 (NLT) says, 'If we confess our sins to Him, He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
wickedness.' God promises that when we ask for forgiveness, 'I'll wipe
the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!'
Forgiveness comes by faith, not feelings. As long as you live by
feelings, satan has a weapon he can use against you at every turn. But
as long as you truly repent, whatever you have done is pardonable.
Once God's forgotten it, it's gone, so how can you still feel guilty
about something that doesn't exist? We may feel like we're condemned,
but we need to start living like we're not: 'There is no condemnation
for those who belong to Christ Jesus.'
What now? Settle yourself. Rest for a while and think over the fact
that there is no condemnation for anything you have done. Read Isaiah
49.15-16 if you need something to focus on.
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