| God's Grace |
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4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. God has forgiven you. Have you forgiven yourself? That is one thing I struggled with for a long time. It is hard to give up that mistake we made, or that fall we took. We feel justified in continuing to punish ourselves for our mistakes. That perhaps if we somehow beat ourselves up enough, we can make things right. But we can never make it right. We can never undo the damage that has been done, or the people we have hurt. With God’s help, people can forgive us. We can rebuild lives that were destroyed by mistakes, but they will never be the same. And continuing to punish ourselves, only takes us further from God, and allows the devil control.
For years I struggled with forgiving myself for my mistakes. I just kept hanging on to the hurt and making myself miserable. I decided I would never know peace again, and even after I accepted Christ, I still didn’t think I would be able to do it. But something miraculous happened. God made me see that He doesn’t want us to keep blaming ourselves. He has forgotten our mistakes, and wants us to too. His intent is for us to find peace, and to forgive ourselves, not to spend the rest of our lives punishing ourselves for something we cannot change.
Oftentimes, when we commit a sin, we have to face the consequences. That is just a part of the payment for committing the sin. But we are still forgiven. And we somehow have to forgive ourselves. It isn’t easy. Letting go of it and giving it to God is one of the hardest things to do in this life. But it is possible, only with His help. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God--
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