God Forgave You, Did You?

Many of you have probably heard those “oh-no” sounds, urrrrrr, zzzzz… clunk – the battery is dead and you’re late.  Such was my inspired response when I read over what I thought was the final draft of the monthly blog last week; clunk and phooey.  After that reading it became very obvious that I’d gotten in the way again.  A note I made a couple of months ago surfaced in bold caps, “it was very obvious when writing was inspired, and when it was not.”  It was not, I’d forgotten to listen for God’s Spirit while the keyboard was smoking in an utterly worldly way.  It did not end well.

The present idea arose during a lively event on August 15th; an inspiring one hundredth anniversary celebration for our local church in a small fishing village.  God was there, the Spirit was moving, and fortunately my thoughts followed.  I will not inflict my original writing upon anyone, except possibly my son who will dutifully grin and remind me forever of the lapse.

And that’s a good thing about God – He doesn’t continually remind you of past sins.  He forgives them, forgets them and helps you develop the life He gave you in a better way.  If you’re being frequently reminded of something you messed up and repented of, it’s coming from a much lower region than God’s.  When that happens, you can do as Jesus did in Matthew 4:1-11; rebuke the devil and send him back where he belongs.  If you do that every time the criticism arises, it will soon run away.

God forgives your sins when you confess and repent.  However, forgiving yourself can be hard; that’s when Satan will attack your mind with accusations and condemnation – especially when he’s orchestrated the entire thing he’s condemning you for.  This is a very good time to remember that Jesus never gives up on you, but you may give up on yourself, at least until you realize that’s just bad.  Reading God’s word every day will help, perhaps consider Psalm 37:4.

Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save us (John 3:17), this includes you.  Try to stop blaming yourself and look for God’s comfort, He will be there welcoming you, loving and comforting you, willing to provide a better future for His child.

Please accept God’s forgiveness.  And since He has forgiven you; it would be good to stop demanding punishment and forgive yourself.  Jesus will help you with that – just as He has helped me many times, over many decades.