Forgiving yourself

Forgiving yourself

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

Yesterday, I ran a half marathon with some friends.  My last long run before Boston.  While I'm so grateful to God for the healing that has taken place in my body, I found that I was still running as if I was hurting.  Somehow waiting for the pain to come back-bracing myself for it.  Why could I not just accept this gift?  

I think forgiveness is a lot like that.  We can give it to others, but we won't accept it for ourselves.  We continue hurting and behaving as if we'd never been forgiven.  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."   And 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  So, there it is... we confess our sins and we are made new.  

Billy Graham said the following about forgiving yourself:  If you have honestly committed your life to Jesus Christ and are trusting Him alone for your salvation, then the Bible says that God has forgiven you — fully and freely. You have been adopted into His family, and nothing can ever change that. The Bible says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Don’t trust your feelings; they aren’t dependable and will only lead you astray. Instead, trust Christ and what He has done for you by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. Trust, too, in God’s promises to you — because God cannot lie, and He has promised to forgive and save all who come to Christ by faith.

In addition, ask God to help you forgive yourself. The memory of what you did in the past condemns you — but it condemns you falsely, because Jesus Christ gave His life for all those sins. The Bible says, “We set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts” (1 John 3:19-20). If God has forgiven you, shouldn’t you also forgive yourself?

Today is the day!  Why not start living the "new life" God promised you when you became a new person in Christ?  Psalm 103:12 says, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."   

Heavenly Father, thank you for forgiving us of our sins.  Please help us to forgive ourselves of those same sins so we can find peace and live a life proclaiming your goodness.  A life filled with joy because of the unburdened conscience we now have after forgiving ourselves.  Wow!  Thank you Jesus for loving us that much.  In your precious name we pray Jesus, Amen.  

Happy Running!!!

Nothing's sweeter than the day we find...forgiveness-Toby Mac