It is during the day when I am trying to complete certain tasks that all of a sudden, I am confronted by a past memory that leaves me feeling like I am still there. The memory of a past failure or mistake passes before my mind which leads to a paralysis of mind and body. Thoughts of regret toward something I had done or words I have said arrest me from living in joy in the moment I am currently living.
It’s the middle of the night, I wake up thinking about past decisions that bring me shame or embarrassment. Why, Oh Lord, could you not make your servant perfect and guide me so that I will never make mistakes after becoming a Christian? Sadly, he did not create us that way. We still live in a sinful world with sinful bodies that we must war against until we are at home with Jesus.
Until that day when we will worry no more about past sins or mistakes, Jesus has given us a way to live in peace even amongst the struggles and failures of our lives. We can go to him. David after sleeping with Bathsheba and killing Uriah understood the feeling of shame from his actions.
Psalm 32 says, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (ESV)
In the time of great anguish and regret over what David had chosen to do, David acknowledged his sin before the Lord. AND the amazing thing is in the next part of the sentence the Lord forgave him. It then goes onto say that the Lord is a hiding place for David and surrounds him with deliverance. Because of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, we no longer have to take on the weight of our sin and shame. Praise be to our Lord who bore our sin and shame on the cross so that we may live in freedom. When you believe in him you are washed free of your sin.
Are you struggling with past mistakes that you have made in your life that you feel like the shame and pain will never go away? Do you feel like the thoughts will be a never ending hinderance to your joy and freedom to the life that you are feeling called to live? Christ is there. He is calling you to come and confess to him. AND you will be forgiven. Once you are forgiven, there are times that Satan would like to remind you of those mistakes and put you down for the failures in the past. But God remembers them no more. As David says, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.”
I spoke before in a previous post of how I mentally manage messy situations in life, you can read that post here. But I have a closet in my mind that I keep a special box that is empty that is labeled “Past Mistakes”. On top of that box, I have a list. The list is titled. “What I have learned from my failures.” When I am struggling with a situation that continually plagues my mind. I bring out the box. Write on the list what I have learned from that experience. I put the mistake in the box. Then I go before Jesus and say, Jesus I am so sorry for how I sinned in this way. Will you forgive me? He does every time. I take the box and give it to him. Then I ask the Lord, “Can you take this past mistake away so that I may live in freedom with you?” Time and time again our Lord forgives me and shouts deliverance over my life.
My sister, steadfast love of the Heavenly Father surrounds you even in your failures. He shouts deliverance over you and then encourages you to, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” May you be glad in the Lord, my sister, and be able to shout for joy for we are delivered from our sins and past failures.
Your worth is immeasurable. You have been bought with a price. You are loved.
Commentaires