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Put up with each other,
and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. -- Colossians 3:13
Forgiving
Ourselves: The Power of Peace
Pastor
Charles Stanley said he often hears people say that they know God
has forgiven them for their sins, but they still don't have peace -- that
something just isn't right. We don't have peace, because even though
Jesus Christ has forgiven us, we haven't forgiven ourselves. I know I
was angry at myself for wasting so many years and money on bulimia. I
could forgive others who had hurt me, but I had a hard time forgiving
myself. I eventually did.
Could this
be an area you may be struggling? There will be no peace or healing until
you are able to forgive yourself, and any others that may have hurt you.
Look at Peter. He denied Jesus three times. How many times do you think
peter replayed that in his mind? Yet Peter went on to follow God's plan
for his life, which would not have been possible if he had been consumed
with guilt.
Look at Paul.
He persecuted the Christian church, and collaborated to murder Stephen.
Yet he knew he was forgiven, for he describes his restoration in the Scripture.
Pastor Stanley
said that when we fail to forgive ourselves then we live under a cloud
of uncertainty about God's love. We develop a sense of unworthiness that
affects our prayer life. Worst of all, failing to forgive yourself is
the same as rejecting God's forgiveness! Think about that! If our sovereign,
almighty, omniscient God has declared you not guilty, who are you
to hold onto guilt and regret?
God knows
everything there is to know about you -- every detail of your life, and
sin. If you haven't- accept God's forgiveness and forgive yourself.
Second, you
must repent of the sin that is still keeping you in bondage -- that's
limiting God's ability to heal and use you. Third, we must reaffirm our
faith in the testimony of Scripture:
"He
does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for
those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions from us. --Psalms 103:10-12 (NIV)"
What a magnificent
assurance that God is our forgiving Father. Jesus has already paid the
penalty for our sins -- we are truly forgiven. Because He rose
from the grave, we can look forward to a new life free from guilt,
shame, secrecy, isolation . . . and full of peace and hope that
surpasses all understanding.
Guilt,
God, and Self-Esteem
by Randy Alcorn
THE
INITIATIVE AGAINST DESPAIR, Oswald Chambers,
February 18
"Rise, let
us be going" (Matt. 26:46). The disciples went to sleep when they should
have kept awake, and when they realized what they had done it produced
despair. The sense of the irreparable is apt to make us despair, and we
say - "It is all up now, it is no use trying any more." If we imagine
that this kind of despair is exceptional, we are mistaken, it is a very
ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize that we have not done
that which we had a magnificent opportunity of doing, then we are apt
to sink into despair; and Jesus Christ comes and says - "Sleep on now,
that opportunity is lost for ever, you cannot alter it, but arise and
go to the next thing." Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom
of Christ, and go out into the irresistible future with Him.
There are
experiences like this in each of our lives. We are in despair, the despair
that comes from actualities, and we cannot lift ourselves out of it. The
disciples in this instance had done a downright unforgivable thing; they
had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus, but He came with a spiritual
initiative against their despair and said - "Arise and do the next thing."
If we are inspired of God, what is the next thine. To trust Him absolutely
and to pray on the ground of His Redemption. Never let the sense of
failure corrupt your new action. —My Utmost For His Highest
Guidelines For Prayer ~ Who
is God?
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