For by the death He died, He died to sin once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God. Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:10 - 11
Joyce Meyers states in her devotional book New Day, New You that "meditating on all of our faults and failures weakens us, but meditating on God's grace and willingness to forgive strengthens us."
She asks, "How much do you fellowship with your sins, failures, mistakes, and weaknesses?"
She goes on to say, "Whatever time it is, it is wasted. When you sin, admit it, ask for forgiveness, and then continue your fellowship with God. Don't let your sins come between you and the Lord. because even when you sin, He still wants to spend time with you, hear and answer your prayers, and help you with all of your needs. He wants you to run to Him, not away from Him!"
I don't know about you, but I tend to beat myself up over my failures and mistakes.
I have a lengthy 'to do' list every summer, but every summer at least half of it doesn't get done. Time management and monitoring my sleep time are not my strong points.
Then there is my mouth. I've been doing better in one area in my life concerning my mouth, but tonight I blew it. Big time. I know that part of it is that I'm tired and frustrated with trying to reorganize this house, but that's no excuse.
Yes, I apologized. Yes, I went to God. But it's tough to move on ---to quit hitting myself over the head--to forgive myself and draw closer to God.
Here's a prayer I found in A Book of Prayer by Stormie Omartian:
"Lord, teach me from Your Word so that I will know Your ways and walk in them. Help me to live in obedience to Your commands. Thank You that my sin doesn't have to separate me from You because by repenting of it and confessing it to You, I can be cleansed of my sins and set free."
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I John 1:9
I can so identify with your tendency to beat yourself down after a failure. I have the same problem, but I believe God is helping me. I'm learning - slowly, but learning - that He desires that I confess, accept His forgiveness and press on! I love the story told by Reuben Welch, one of my favorite authors, about his little girl learning to play the piano. Every day, over and over, she got to the same place in her piece and messed up. Each time, she started all over at the beginning of the song, so she never played the whole piece. He finally encouraged her to just correct her mistake and "keep on playing"! She was able then to move on and life in his house was much more pleasant!
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful day! Keep playing!!
i like this. it really helps my thinking.
ReplyDeletethanks.