{forgive yourself}

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart
 in full assurance of faith, having our hearts 
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience
 and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we
 profess for he who promised is faithful. 
{Hebrews 10:22-23}

The other day I was watching The 700 Club (mostly because I didn't know where the remote was to change it).  At the end of the show they have a section where viewers can send in questions and Pat Robertson, the host, will answer them. One lady's question really stuck out to me. She had been a virgin and thought she would stay that way until she was married. She then met a guy at church and within weeks they were pregnant. They got married and were now leading a Christ-centered home as best they could. However, she had this guilt from getting pregnant out of wedlock. She wanted to know if Pat thought that she should get a divorce since their relationship started in Sin. Of course his answer was no. Followed then by, "You need to forgive yourself.".

This is such a real struggle for every single Christian I know. In college I talked to so many girls about this. Girls who were trapped in a sin from the past. In fact, the last time I met one-on-one with a girl it was to discuss this very issue. She was hurt and she was broken all because she couldn't forgive herself. But why?

{Why is it so much easier for us to forgive others before we will forgive ourselves? }

We mess up. It's okay! God never expected you to go through this life without sinning. If He did, He wouldn't have had to send his Son. Jesus set the absolute perfect example of how we are supposed to live the Christian life, but He knew that we couldn't. He laid down his live to forgive your sins. They're done. They're forgotten. Hebrews 10:18 says, "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." He's forgotten them. He has given you a clean slate.

But lets just be real (and maybe a little harsh, sorry) here for a minute, who are you to say that you can't forgive something that God has already forgiven. It's easy when someone wrongs you to say, "Well God has forgiven her so I have to as well." So why doesn't that work when it's your own sin? Not forgiving yourself is like saying, "Hey God, I see what you did. I see that you sent your Son to die for me. But that's not good enough. This sin is mine and I can't let go of it. I can't be forgiven for it." Harsh, right? How do you think God feels?

Trust me, I've been there. I've held onto sin. And all that did was put a wall between me and God. I tried to hide from him. And let me just tell you, that is pointless. Why do we think we can hide from the God who rules the universe? (Sometimes, we're just not very smart.) The more I tried to hide my sin from God, the more it controlled me and the harder my heart became. It's not a fun place to be. But so many people are there.

That sin that you're holding onto is heavy. Maybe not to the world, but to you. It may be sexual sin, a lie you told your parents, cheating, turning your back on a friend, something the world thinks is a "small sin", or the worst thing you could possibly think of. But God wants to take that weight from you. All you have to do is give it to Him.

Does this mean that we can sin, ask forgiveness and go and do the same thing again, guilt free? Of course not. True repentance comes with a heart of change. Does this mean we aren't going to slip up every now and then? Definitely not. It may be a habit that is hard to quit. But find someone to hold you accountable. Don't let this sin hold you back from living the life that God has planned for you and having a beautiful relationship with him.

Sweet friend, get rid of the guilt and let yourself be free. 

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
 so great is his love for those who fear him;
 as far as the east is from the west, so far
 has he removed our transgressions from us. 
{Psalm 103:11-12}

You  are  loved.   You  are  forgiven.   You  are  His.

{ sparkle }