If you’re reading this right now, you’ve probably felt like a failure at times, or that you aren’t good enough for someone or something. No matter who or what you’ve so called “failed,” you probably still look yourself in the mirror & think: I am not enough. I know I have felt this way numerous times. Maybe it relates to school, your family, a relationship you’re in/were in, or maybe, just maybe, you feel like you aren’t good enough for YOU.
STOP IT! I can tell you right now that that is a lie coming straight from Satan’s mouth. Yes, maybe you’ve failed a couple tests, or heck, maybe you’ve failed a couple courses. Maybe your relationship with your boyfriend/girlfriend ended, or maybe you don’t feel adequate enough to fulfill your parents’ expectations. But remember, not everyone is supposed to be a brain surgeon, a teacher, an astronaut, or an athlete. If you’re relationship didn’t work out, it doesn’t mean you failed, it means it wasn’t right. If your parents set high expectations for you, it’s because they believe in you & want what’s best for you. Every time something doesn’t go right, stop feeling like you aren’t good enough. Think of it like this: I can’t play the trumpet, but that doesn’t mean I’m a failure. My past relationships haven’t worked out, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on love. I don’t have a 4.0 GPA in college, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna give up on my entire college career.
The thing is, every time we tell ourselves I can’t, I’m not good enough, or I’m a failure, God looks at us & says, Yes you can, You are good enough, & You are not a failure. He looks at us & says, “I created your inmost being, I knit you together in your mother’s womb. All the days ordained for you were written in My book before one of them came to be.” (reference to Psalm 139). God knew that I wouldn’t be a trumpet player, or marry my first boyfriend, or have a perfect GPA in college. But God knew that I would play the piano, & be a dancer, & change my major a lot. He knows my every step before I even take it! & He created me just the way He wants me. (That goes for you, too!) In Genesis 1 God says, “‘Let us make mankind in Our image, in Our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea & the birds in the sky, over the livestock & all the wild animals, & over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male & female He created them.”
originally posted by “Spiritualinspiration” (see link below)
So every time that you look yourself in the mirror & think, Why am I not good enough?, please remember this: YOU. ARE. ENOUGH. Isaiah 43 says it best: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; & when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior … you are precious & honored in My sight, & … I love you.”
originally posted by “Thedecorista” (see link below)
I was chatting with a friend the other day, & she asked me, “Lindsey, do you ever feel guilty for past sins you’ve committed? How are you supposed to get over the feeling of guilt?” These are two questions that I am sure many Christians face. So, I did a little digging in my Bible & thought I would share my thoughts on the ugly burden of guilt.
To start with, everybody sins. (Shocking, right?) As humans, we rank our sin. We think that lying is not so bad, but murdering someone is. God sees ALL sin the same. Whenever we sin, we are deciding not to live out God’s will for us. But, thankfully, our sin doesn’t cause God to hate us. Of course He still loves us, but it genuinely saddens Him. I think about it like this: I would much rather someone close to me be angry & upset with me than be disappointed in me. Whenever we sin, it clouds what Jesus wants us to be thinking & doing. Let’s not get confused now: sin does not affect our eternal relationship with God. We know that that was established when we put our trust in Jesus & His payment for our sins. Jesus died the most excruciating death on a cross for both you & me, & in doing that He paid for all our past, present, & future sins. At that time, however, our entire life was in the future! How cool is that?? Jesus forgave us knowing every single sin we would commit in our lives! With faith in Jesus, we are totally forgiven, & our relationship with Him is completelysecure.
Now you may be thinking: “I got it, Lindsey. I know we all sin & Jesus forgave it all on the cross. But where does ‘guilt’ come into all this??” As most of you have probably experienced, the result of sinning can often be the feeling of guilt. If you are really a born again child of God, you should feel some sort of guilt for your sins. If sinning doesn’t even bother you, then I might reexamine whom you are living for – yourself? God? That is between you & God, & I’m not here to tell you how you should or should not feel after you sin. I do know that when you are burdened by guilt, God’s Spirit inside you is grieved. Sometimes guilt can push us towards God, which can be a blessing in disguise. We might be seeking God’s forgiveness because the guilt is causing us spiritual pain.
God PROMISED to forgive us of our sins, no matter WHAT the sin is! All you have to do is turn to Jesus in faith. Repenting is confessing that we sinned with the desire to see God transform our heart. Part of confessing our sins should be thanking God that Jesus paid for all of our sins on the cross 2000 years ago. Yep, let’s not forget how big this is!!! Giving thanks to God involves having a little faith because you are reacting to what the Bible says is true about you, not how you feel about yourself at that moment (which is probably not very good, I’m assuming).
Now for the ugly part: freedom from our sin doesn’t always bring freedom from the overwhelming sensation of guilt. A lot of times, once our sins have been forgiven, the memory of them still lingers in our minds for way longer than we would like. But when you actually accept God’s forgiveness, IT. IS. LIBERATING.
Now here’s a question for you: have you ever thought that lowering yourself in your own eyes & criticizing yourself for sinning might seem “spiritual” & cause God to be delighted with your modesty?? DO NOT THINK LIKE THIS! This is NOT the way God sees you! When you criticize yourself, you are focusing on your sin, rather than on Jesus’s forgiveness of that sin!
So when you feel guilty, pray & confess to God any sin that is still lingering in your conscience. Don’t deny your sin, but don’t become engrossed with it either. Once you confess it, ask for God’s help in seeing anything in your life that needs to be altered. If the feeling of guilt still plagues you after you’ve confessed, that is false guilt. It’s Satan talking! Continue to pray & ask God to make you deaf to Satan’s accusations.
Now, once you deal with your sin, MOVE ON. Focus on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable” (Philippians 4:8). Resist the temptation to dwell on your past failures & wrong actions.
I want to touch on “temptations” for a second. Sometimes we mistake temptation for sin. Just like sinning, everybody is tempted. Even Jesus was tempted! “The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness. & He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. & He was with the wild animals, & the angels were ministering to Him” (Mark 1:12-13). Jesus didn’t give in to Satan’s temptation, so He didn’t sin. Whenever you are tempted, don’t punish yourself, just choose not to dwell on those tempting thoughts (which can be hard, I know), & ask God for the strength to avoid committing that sin.
God never looks back on your sins & failures with condemnation. Neither should we! If God can forgive us, we can forgive ourselves. We are washed as white as snow. Our old sins are as far from us as the east is from the west! (See Psalm 103:8-12 below) Our sins were nailed to a cross, dead, & buried. Accept His complete forgiveness so the feeling of guilt goes away. Remember this: living life with Christ is living a life of freedom. Living for the Lord can be so hard, especially in the world we live in today, but we really do have freedom from guilt, & freedom to live as God intends for us.
made by Amber Blevins with spoken.ly
Here are some Bible verses for you to meditate on:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. & such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ & by the Spirit of our God.”
Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, & turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.”
Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, & know my heart! Try me & know my thoughts! & see if there be any grievous way in me, & lead me in the way everlasting!”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Psalm 86:5 “For you, O Lord, are good & forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You.”
Psalm 103:8-12 “The Lord is merciful & gracious, slow to anger & abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, & I will remember their sins no more.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, & He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Hebrews 10:17 “I will remember their sins & their lawless deeds no more.”
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin & death.”
I hope that this post & these verses encourage you & help you get past the feeling of guilt. It can be an ugly process, but put your trust in Him & restore your joy to the gift of salvation.
It’s that time of year when you’re with all your family celebrating the holidays. It’s also the time when family & friends ask that infamous question: “So you’re still single??” I mean if I didn’t already know this, I sure do now! Holidays can be a time where we long for romance. If you are a single Christian reading this, I hope some of these truths give you some peace in this season of singleness.
Do you ever question what exactly God is doing with your life? What about why God has blessed your friends with the ONE thing you want? When you are single, life gets lonely, you get jealous, & you’re discontent. But, I’m here to tell you otherwise.
Be content.
I used to think that I couldn’t be content until I was married. That is SO wrong. I have found that I can be content in this season of singleness, & still want to (eventually) get married. Contentment is not a feeling; it’s a decision you make. Be determined to be satisfied with what God has given you right now. By being content today, you will be more equipped for anything life throws your way. Trust me.
You are loved.
Who likes C.S. Lewis? I sure do, & boy does he have some wisdom to share with us! He tells us in his book, The Problem of Pain, that “You asked for a loving God: you have One…The consuming fire Himself, the Love that made the worlds, persistent as the artist’s love for his work & despotic as a man’s love for a dog, provident & venerable as a father’s love for a child, jealous, inexorable…How this should be, I do not know: it passes reason to explain why any creatures…should have a value so prodigious in their Creator’s eyes.” Wow – God really really loves us!! 🙂
One thing that I have learned in this season of singleness is that I need to be doing EVERYTHING I can to be who God created me to be. Of course, I will never get there because I am not perfect. There will always be more I can do to be like Christ, but by doing this, when the time comes for me to become one with my husband, I will be the type of person I wanted to find in a husband. It’s been pretty amazing focusing my all on God instead of focusing on an earthly suitor.
This is where God wants you.
This one’s easy. God has instructed us to follow Him, but we’re not asked to WORRY about it. So, if you are obeying God & following Him, you don’t need to stress about whether or not you have missed His will for your life.
Don’t be embarrassed!
This is a big one. Sometimes singles feel a sense of shame about not being in a relationship/married. I’m here to tell you: don’t feel awkward for not being attached to someone else. Live your life & be HAPPY!
So, when you’re gathered around the house this holiday season chatting with family & friends, focus on them. Have a heart filled with love for your family & friends, & stop fretting about the questions they might ask you.
Don’t dwell on what you don’t have; focus on what you DO have. Think about everything God has given you & reaffirm your trust in a sovereign God who PASSIONATELY LOVES YOU!
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