Forgiven

Right now, people everywhere are carrying something with them that needs to be left behind. Maybe you’re one of those people.

Something you’ve done in your past, something you blame yourself for…something that has caused you unhappiness, possibly for quite a while, because you haven’t let it go.

Whether it’s guilt, shame, or regret, you are not allowing yourself to achieve your full potential right now because you have not freed yourself from that weight on your shoulders.

If this is you, I want you to know you have company. I can’t even count the number of times I have kept things with me that simply didn’t need to be with me anymore.

Here’s what you need to know, and what I need to remind myself of as well. Whatever it is that happened, it doesn’t have to go on your permanent record.

Psalm 32:1-2
Our God, you bless everyone
whose sins you forgive and wipe away.
You bless them by saying,
“You told me your sins, without trying to hide them,
and now I forgive you.”

You see, God sent His only son to die for us and take the punishment for our sins. Jesus was blameless, yet he died on a cross and rose again so that we might be forgiven for our sins and someday have eternal life. The price for our sins has already been paid.

More simply, the not so great things you and I have done in our lives are like pencil marks on a piece of paper. They’re erasable.

All you have to do is ask God for forgiveness and once you do that, you’re free. Free to live a life without guilt, without shame, and with a greater purpose than you could have ever imagined for yourself. Free from the chains that bind you to the failures and shortcomings that aren’t meant to dictate who you are destined to become.

Psalm 32:3-5
Before I confessed my sins, my bones felt limp,
and I groaned all day long.
Night and day your hand weighed heavily on me,
and my strength was gone as in the summer heat.
So I confessed my sins and told them all to you.
I said, “I’ll tell the LORD each one of my sins.”
Then you forgave me and took away my guilt.

Bottom line: Don’t spend one more day, or even one more minute of your life being limited by your past and being dragged down by the weight of carrying it around with you. Be free. Be free to live up to your potential. Be free to embrace and live a life of someone who has been forgiven.