Stop Beating Yourself Up!

Let’s face it!  We are our own worst enemies.  We constantly beat ourselves up every day for things we’ve done, things we’ve said and the decisions we’ve made.  Oh, how I wish there was a repeat button where we could go back in time and change things.  But, we can’t.  We must learn to live with the choices we’ve made, good and bad.  Everything we have experienced in life is a learning experience.  We must choose to learn from the experience and move on with our lives.  I know it’s hard, but it is essential to good health.                                                           

I realize that some things are easier to overcome than others, but we must strive daily to see ourselves the way that Jesus sees us.  In the world today, we worry so much about what people think of us.  We desperately want the approval of others, so we agonize over what they think.  I fail to understand why we care so much because many times they may not be worth the energy we expend trying to please them.  This doesn’t make them a bad person, it just means we need to focus on people who will love and accept us just the way we are. 

I’m not saying that anything goes!  As a Christian, I believe we should always strive to walk and talk as Jesus did.  However, the truth is that we will fall short.  In those times, we must learn to forgive ourselves.  The bible pronounces, “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. When God forgives us, he moves on; so should we!  Jesus didn’t die for perfect people. The word declares, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:8. Christ came to save those of us who needed help.  He explains, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”   

Christ died for imperfect people.  If you are a born again Christian, when God looks at you he sees Christ.  He doesn’t see our sins, but the blood of Jesus.  The Christian walk is hard, but we have the help of the Holy Spirit.  We will not be perfect overnight, but through prayer, worship, studying the scriptures, and the fellowship of the saints, we will grow every day.   

Let us not trust in our own works today.  Let us rest in Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith.” Heb. 12:2.  Don’t live in other people’s expectations of you!  Live by the word of God.  And, when you stumble, repent, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and run back to Jesus!  He’s waiting for you!

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