We have all witnessed it. We have all probably done it more than once. We mess up - we sin. And while we repent and ask for forgiveness from God and everyone else, we can't seem to forgive ourselves.
And what is worse, we think we deserve what we get whether it is an abusive relationship, being miserable and feeling we have no right to be happy; or just distancing ourselves from God because it's more than our finite minds can handle to realize He has forgiven us fully.
Perhaps it is a generational bond that chains us to our faults. We feel everyone knows what we did. How can we stand up for Jesus when we've screwed up so many times? Won't everyone think I'm just a hypocrite? I can't give my testimony; everybody knows how badly I've screwed my life up.
We feel the need to constantly flog ourselves. We remain being miserable in an abusive relationship because we think we don't think we deserve to be happy. We brow beat ourselves black and blue because of two words … 'we think'.
I don't know about you, but I get in trouble when I 'do my own thinking'. What I mean by that is this: we think in a world where the devil roams about, constantly reminding us that we're no good. He likes to remind us how many times we've failed. He likes to point out that we are living miserable lives because we deserve it. And we believe it - completely.
As God's children, we have an Advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ. We forget we are the child of the One True King. As parents we want our children to be happy … to lead happy lives. God has lavished His love upon us. Doesn't it stand to reason that God wants us to be happy, too? However, we keep ourselves chained in misery. Let's break the chains the devil has bound about us and remember who we belong to - The One True King.
Yes, there will always be someone who will bring up the past to prove a point or just to feel superior. But it doesn't matter what they think - what matters is the love of God.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9