Can you say with confidence that your regrets are not held against you by God?
That your regrets-your shadows of shame that lurk behind the mask you put on everyday-hold no sway in the hands of our Savior?...that his thoughts toward you are for good?
Can you say that He doesn't look at you with the anger because of your past sin?
Do you know that every regret-all of your past-all of the shame that you have--- God wants to set free?
What would freedom look like...right now...in this very place...without the smell of the dungeons and the clanking of the ever present chains of the past weighing you down?
Do you know that He looks at you differently that the way that you look at yourself?
(Because, I know who I am-I see the mess. I know my past and my present. I know how hideous and ugly I am. I know. Believe me. I know...it replays in my mind 1,000 times a day and sometimes 1,000,000 times at night....and I can't imagine what the undiscovered parts of my heart look like to an all knowing-ever present, holy, God. I mean, the stuff I know about is bad enough...what about the stuff I don't know about. What about all those sins that I have committed by omission...
It. Is. A. Terrifying. Concept.
Truly, if God is who he says He is...and I am fully known like Scripture tells me I am...the depths of Hell is where I belong. So, I must clean my self up, do things that prove to Him and to myself that I am better than I used to be...that I am sorry...that I measure up...that I love him and He loves me. I perform. I do. I MAKE MYSELF appear to be more than I am. I stuff my past..., well, in the past... and I press forward thinking that it won't surface. But it does. again. and. again. What is up with THAT?!
We have let a bit of light shine on it. Just enough to make it hurt...and it hurt bad enough that we slam the door shut. Just too painful...bright light makes the eyes hurt when they have been in the dark. Oh, sure, I have confessed it a million times and I keep going back over and over and over...so am I really forgiven? cause I sure don't feel like it...and so we talk, talk, talk, talk, talk to ourselves...and we convince ourselves that we will never be anything more than the sum of our mistakes and failures of our past.)
souls forget about grace.
minds forget about grace.
hearts forget about grace.
Take sins to the cross.
Take regrets and humble self enough to apologize.
Take victimization to the Great Physician for healing.
Take skeletons and bury those dead bones for good-and that means forgiving others and accepting Christ's forgiveness.
AND WE DESPERATELY NEED TO TURN OUR FOCUS OFF OF OURSELVES AND ONTO THE HEART OF GOD.
TO HEAR WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY ABOUT US AND NOT WHAT WE SAY ABOUT OURSELVES.
too much self introspection kills.(Aghhh----don't you just get sick and tired from the drama of it!?)
self absorption drowns.(don't OTHERS get sick and tired of it!)
self keeps us in our regrets and clouds our vision of a future.(doesn't everyone in your life SUFFER because of it!)
Simply. Jesus. Grace put on flesh and Grace interceding in heaven for me and for you. That is the how and why God forgets the sins and throws that as far as the east is from the west...
He doesn't see you as you are now-he sees Jesus in your place. Jesus YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jesus YOUR PERFECT SUBSTITUTE. Jesus YOUR EVERYTHING.
He sees you as you will be when he his work IN you is complete...AND IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING YOU INTO HIS IMAGE-YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. warts and all. failures that mount to the ceiling. skeletons in the closets. broken and wounded. scars from the battles. blood and gore of severed relationships. all the grief. all of the terrors. all of the victimization. all of the abuse. all of the dysfunction. all of the scattered dreams and shipwrecks. He wants you to give it to him so he can replace YOU with HIM.
You are known. Fully. Completely. Every closet. Every dark place. Every thought. Every motive. Every intent of the heart. Every hair on your head is numbered. Every cell-every fiber of your being was knit together by a LOVING, MERICFUL, KIND HEAVENLY FATHER WHO ACCEPTS, YOU....FULLY. COMPLETELY. IN EVERY DARK PLACE he brings light, IN EVERY ONE OF YOUR THOUGHTS he brings clarity, EVERY MOTIVE FOR EVERY DEED he brings integrity, IN EVERY INTENT OF YOUR HEART he brings purity...
grace. fully. extended.
FOR YOU. TODAY. in this hour. at this moment. in all things.
And that is truly amazing.
" And they will sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is exalted, yet he regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands." Psalm 138:5-8
Amen!!! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete