Blog

Jan 02, 2025 18:00pm

What Now?: Forgiving Yourself

206 Views

The following comes from the devotional book “What Now?” by Ashley Akers. To learn more, go to www.whatnowdevo.com.

Forgiving Yourself

Have you ever done something for which you feel you can never forgive yourself? Maybe it was a sexual relationship, not speaking up, an abortion, abuse, adultery or angry outbursts. One thing is common for everyone who struggles with this: continuing to relive the pain. It repeatedly replays in your memory and you can’t forget. You suffer emotionally, feeling unworthy and unloved. Before you know it, the pain is making your decisions.

Imagine getting a stain on your favorite shirt. You buy every type of cleaner on the shelf to remove it, but your efforts are unsuccessful. This stain represents your sin. The stain of sin can never be washed away by our efforts. Removal of sin takes a supernatural solution: Jesus.

Romans 3:25 says,

Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Jesus took all our sins upon Himself on the cross. He gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice and died in our place so that we could experience reconciliation with God. So when you trust in Jesus and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and then you turn from them, they are gone!

Romans 8:1-2 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.

He does not condemn you for your sin but declares you not guilty! Scripture does not say that we must forgive ourselves. When Jesus forgives us we are completely forgiven. So why do we still need to forgive ourselves? We may know that we are forgiven, but don’t feel forgiven. Guilt and shame do not come from Jesus. They come from the enemy who keeps reminding you of your past. The enemy may tell you that you are worthless, God can never forgive you, your sin was too bad to be forgiven or to just give up. He wants to paralyze you with his lies and keep you in bondage. When you hear these lies, remember James 4:7.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

This is how you fight the enemy when he brings up your past: submit to God. The enemy is already defeated! Counteract the enemy’s lies with the truth of God’s Word and through prayer. When you have sinned against a person, first go to God, then go to the person and reconcile with him/her (if safe). By going to the person and reconciling, the enemy’s stronghold is removed. Accept and believe that God has forgiven you so you can live in freedom.

Reflection Questions

1. What sin(s) is haunting you from your past? Have you asked God to forgive you?

2. What lies have you been told from the enemy? What is God’s truth?