Stop Beating Yourself Up.

We mess up. We sin. That's just how it is. The thing to remember is, God is not surprised when we fall short of His Glory- who better to know that than our very own creator? Here's where we fall off: As humans, we get it mixed up in our heads and create our own standards of good and bad, leading us astray from God. Why? Because in our own minds, we think that He can't forgive us based on how severe we deem the sin. However, in the sight of God, sin is sin- all one and the same. So, we might tell a white lie in our day to day life and leave that unrepented, thinking nothing of it, and then another day fall into sexual sin or hurt someone.

 Although they are the exact same thing in the eyes of God, we go and put ourselves in this penalty box for however long we think is necessary, before we ask God for forgiveness and move on. 

We didn't feel that way about the little white lie- but felt that way about the 'bigger' sins. I think what needs to happen, is that we open our eyes to see that His Grace is sufficient. Grace is key here.

Once you are saved, Jesus is your great attorney and He is up there fighting for you! No matter the sin, it can and will be forgiven. 

Don't try and measure which ones deserve the penalty box and which ones you never apologize for. The Heart of Jesus Christ is for His creation to seek Him and quickly. As soon as you come the realization that you've slipped up, ask Him for forgiveness.

God does not want you to beat yourself up every time that you fall short, because frankly, you would be beating yourself up every single day of your life. 

We're not perfect, and the Glory of God is shown in our imperfections. Repent, move on in your walk with Him. There's nothing more that the enemy loves, than for you to waste time punishing yourself and hating yourself for messing up- His Grace is and always will be sufficient: for your mess ups, slip ups and mistakes.

Change. Learn something from your mess ups, but don't give up. 

We think that God no longer finds favor with us because we sin. That's not biblical.

 Look at David. Labeled as a 'Man after God's Own Heart", but legitimately slept with a mans wife, impregnated her, and then to cover it all up, killed the wife's husband in the front line of battle. David suffered the consequences, but it did not make Him any less of a man of God.

Abraham. Known as the most faithful man, but he wasn't perfect either. God gave him a promise that he and his wife, even in their old age would have a child. But Abraham ended up sleeping with the servant girl to bring forth his son in his own way. Later on, he still got the son that he and his wife were supposed to have,  but there was much strife between the two families which created the conflict that we now have between the Israelites and the Arabs.

Let your relationship with God be strengthened by your comeback. His Grace and Mercy will never fail to make you fall in love with Him all over again.

God is not looking for perfection. He is looking for a heart that is completely after Him. Grace is not a go and sin card, but definitely good news to hold onto for the many times that we will stumble.

 If we were perfect, Jesus's sacrifice would be useless. Since we are imperfect beings, we can rejoice in the fact that Jesus is our attorney and that He is not seeking to be harsh and condemn us, but rather to be that still, quiet voice that leads us in the right direction when we go astray, like the Good Shepherd He is.

When we ask for forgiveness, God chooses to send our sin as far as the east is from the west, and remember them no more (Psalm 103:12) (Hebrews 8:12)

The fact that God- a Perfect Being, doesn't condemn us or beat us up when we sin, is a sure sign that we shouldn't either. Stop listening to the enemies lies, and listen to the loving + patient voice of God.

So let's stop beating ourselves up and fall into His grace.

God bless,