Read Micah 7
Do you ever beat yourself up about things you’ve said and done in the past? Do you ever wake in the wee hours of the night, feeling unlovable and unforgivable because of that thing you did years ago? Maybe it was an abortion. Maybe it was an illicit affair. Maybe you scammed something at work and got someone else fired! Do you toss and turn all night because that closet door, that secret door has opened that little bit and painful memories have spilt out?
We all know the pain of feeling unlovable and unforgivable, don’t we? We’ve all cried into our pillow at the stupid and totally idiotic dumb things we’ve done, haven’t we. Sometimes I feel that I’m the only one that has “done all the dumb things.”
At those times it’s imperative that we do not continue to look in the mirror at ourselves. It’s imperative that we look at God. Can you see that transition within Micah 7? He turns to look at God from sin (vs 9) and he asks in amazement:-
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.
God delights in mercy! God does not stay angry forever. God pardons and God forgives! God wants nothing more than for you to confess that sin that is haunting you and then to leave it with God. We have no right to punish ourselves where God has pardoned us. He would rather than we swam and enjoyed the ocean of his forgiveness.
In the very next verse we read :-
You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
God is able to take our sins and tie them into a bundle and sink them into the depths of the sea. He can do this because Jesus has suffered the punishment and penalty for our sins.
But when God hurls our iniquities into the depths of the ocean we need to remember that he also puts up a “NO FISHING” sign. He does not want us to drag up those sins again from the bottom of the ocean! He does not want us to relive those sins again. He does not want us to beat ourselves up again for something that He dealt with by allowing His own Son to die for!!! He actually forbids it. That’s why it’s imperative that we look to the cross in our nights of self punishment and torture. That’s why we have to grab the gospels and cling to them (and hence to Him) when we hate and berate ourselves.
But how do I focus on Him when I’m so obsessed with me and my sinfulness? Start by confession that sin! Read the gospel passions narratives (ie the cross). Sing songs of praise. Ring a trusted Christian friend and get together to talk about Christ’s sacrifice or even to pray together! Read a devotion. Do anything that gets you refocussed correctly.
Prayer: -
à Praise God for the wonderful Youth Camp held recently, and for the way in which God has touched many lives.
à Pray for these teenagers that they will continue to grow in their Christian witness.
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