Last night, as I was up nursing, I suddenly remembered a friend of mine. She had said that she needed to talk and would call me, but that was a week ago and I had forgotten all about it. So I took a minute to pray for her, and started to pray for myself, when I suddenly stopped.
If I had kept going, I would have prayed something like this:
Dear God, I am so sorry for forgetting to pray. Please forgive me. I want to be better at this. I'm so bad at remembering these things.
Dear God, I am so sorry for forgetting to pray. Please forgive me. I want to be better at this. I'm so bad at remembering these things.
But surprisingly, these are the words that came out instead:
Thank you Lord for reminding me to pray for my friend. Thank you for your Spirit that connects us.
Thank you Lord for reminding me to pray for my friend. Thank you for your Spirit that connects us.
What happened?
For years, I had continually approached the throne of God believing that I was still covered in guilt and shame. Anytime I failed to live up to His standards, I would beat myself up, beg for forgiveness, and vow to do better next time. This cycle went on for years.
But the Bible says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2)
And only now, after so many years of knowing these words in my head, the truth has entered my heart and I am breaking free of my bad habits. I know that I am still going to fail at times, but God is not keeping a record of my wrongs in a book and waving a whip over my head for the times I mess up. He sees me as one redeemed by His Son; my wrongs are covered by Jesus's cloak of righteousness. My life's song is not one of guilt and shame; it is a song of God's love and mercy.
For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ~John 3:16-17
I love these verses and I am thankful for this new understanding. Today is my birthday, and I am going to spend the day lingering on these words.
For years, I had continually approached the throne of God believing that I was still covered in guilt and shame. Anytime I failed to live up to His standards, I would beat myself up, beg for forgiveness, and vow to do better next time. This cycle went on for years.
But the Bible says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2)
And only now, after so many years of knowing these words in my head, the truth has entered my heart and I am breaking free of my bad habits. I know that I am still going to fail at times, but God is not keeping a record of my wrongs in a book and waving a whip over my head for the times I mess up. He sees me as one redeemed by His Son; my wrongs are covered by Jesus's cloak of righteousness. My life's song is not one of guilt and shame; it is a song of God's love and mercy.
For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ~John 3:16-17
I love these verses and I am thankful for this new understanding. Today is my birthday, and I am going to spend the day lingering on these words.
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