To the Christian Who Messed Up

 

Have you ever messed up? Like, really badly? Have you ever done something so stupid or shameful it haunted you for weeks? Maybe you’re there right now. Every time you close your eyes you see flashbacks of what you did, what you said. Before you know it all the joy is sucked out of you and you wonder whether you’ve used up all your second chances and God has officially given up on you.

 

Maybe it feels like you can’t do anything without messing up. Maybe you’re carrying around a burden of shame and guilt with you wherever you go. Maybe you think God could never love you because you always make mistakes: You never keep your promises to spend more time with Him. You forget to read your Bible. You miss opportunities to reach out to others because you’re too afraid of looking weird or getting rejected.

 

Or maybe it goes deeper than that. Maybe you went too far in a relationship with the opposite sex, or you found yourself going back to addictions—even though you swore the last time that you’d never do it again. But you did. And you feel all dirty inside. It feels awful to let God down, doesn’t it?

 

Our sins can create gaping chasms in our hearts that keep us from experiencing and embracing the love of God. If any of these words have struck a chord, please allow me to share with you, dear brother or sister in Christ, about this thing called grace.

 

This Thing Called Grace

 

I’ve always struggled with the concept of God’s grace. I’m a recovering perfectionist so it’s hard for me to believe that God would love a mess like me. It’s hard for me to claim the truth that I am forgiven and no longer condemned for my sins because of Christ. But God has been working extensively in this area of my life for a few years now. He’s brought me out of the dark winter of shame and into the spring of new beginnings.

 

Before I go any further I should probably clarify that our sins do matter to God, but maybe not for the reasons you think. God wants the best for you. He wants you to experience the abundant life Jesus promises us through an intimate relationship with Him. He wants to take you along the best possible path for your life—His path.

 

Sin gets in the way of that. It steals a part of our heart and draws it away from God. Sin gets in the way of God’s plan for our lives, and although there is ALWAYS redemption to be found through a genuinely repentant heart, it can steal opportunities God wants to give us, and it can rob us of intimacy with Him. That said, Satan loves to use our mistakes as a way to make us give up on our walk with God and hide our hearts from our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

Conviction vs. Condemnation

 

Always remember: God convicts. Satan condemns. God may speak to your heart through the Holy Spirit and tell you that a certain behavior is harmful and you need to go in the opposite direction. Satan will show you an endless replay of your mistakes and tear you down by telling you you’re worthless; you’re a mistake, and there’s no hope for you.

 

If you hear the loving voice of a Heavenly Father urging you to turn away from a harmful habit, follow His voice. But if a voice is constantly berating you, telling you you’re too far gone and you should just give up, that’s Satan.

 

Should we feel condemned when we mess up? Nope. Here’s why: Romans 8:1 declares, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT). In verses 33-34 it says, “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us” (NLT).

 

Aren’t we supposed to repent for the bad things we do? Yes. But contrary to popular belief, repentance doesn’t mean wallowing in guilt and paying emotional penance; rather it simply means to turn away from something and go in the opposite direction. Jesus Christ took all our shame when He offered Himself up to be crucified. Colossians 2:13-14 says, “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (NLT).

 

We receive salvation by God’s grace alone, and we keep it by grace alone. My standing as God’s child doesn’t depend on performance, but on God’s character. 2 Timothy 2:13 assures us that “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (NLT).

 

Freedom to Try Again

 

This is all part of the freedom in Christ Paul talks about in his letters. We are free to reject the lies of Satan that condemn us when we fall, and accept the grace of God that gives us the strength to try again. Even Paul messed up.

 

Paul admits his own struggle with sin when he says in Romans chapter 7 verses 15-23, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate… I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway… I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind…” (NLT).

 

It sounds depressing at this point. If even Paul can’t get it, where’s the hope? He answers in verses 24-25: “Oh what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (NLT).

 

Jesus is the reason you were saved from your sins. Jesus is the reason you can stand with dignity when you fail. Jesus is the reason you can claim God’s love when you mess up. Jesus is the reason you can turn in the opposite direction of your sin and try again. Whenever I write an article I try to ask God what He wants to say to the precious souls who read it, and this time this is what He said:

 

“To woman who feels defeated because she tried to make goals, and ended up failing again, tell her there’s nothing she could ever do to earn My love (Philippians 3:3, 7-9). It’s already hers, and the more she soaks up My love and grace, the more naturally everything else will fall into place.

 

To the man who can’t forget his mistakes, tell him I have separated him from his sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12); I no longer associate him with them. I have forgiven him. He can lift his head with dignity, because My love has destroyed any trace of his mistakes.

 

To the girl with scars on her arms who’s tempted to cut herself again, tell her she doesn’t need to shed her own blood because the blood I shed on the cross paid for her sins and shortcomings (Hebrews 10:18). Because of My love and grace she can reject the lies of condemnation and claim the truth of My unconditional love.

 

To the girl who’s huddled on the floor in tears, terrified because she went too far with a guy and she’s scared, tell her I still love her, and nothing can ever separate her from My love (Romans 8:38-39). Tell her not to be afraid because, if she cries out to Me, I will help her, and I will work everything out for good—even her mistakes.”

 

Breathing in Grace

 

I struggle with sin. You struggle with sin— even the most influential pastors of our time struggle with sin. No one is perfect. No one is righteous apart from Jesus Christ. Every single human on this planet is completely dependent upon the grace of God. Not one of us has a leg to stand on without it.

 

God knows this. He knows we’re imperfect. He knows we mess up. He knows we even do horrible, awful things sometimes. 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time–to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (NLT).

 

God has good plans for us. He wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him and experience the abundant life Jesus promised. He wants us to do the right thing—not because He wants us to be perfect, but because He wants us to experience Him.

 

Paul says in Ephesians 3:14-19, “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. “Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (NLT).

 

If you’re a Christian, chances are you want to grow, you want to make progress, you want to do better, you want to get out of the rut of sin and shame. We all want to become strong and mature Christians, but where does Paul say that strength comes from? “Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong,” (NLT). God’s love. God’s grace. That’s what makes us mature in Christ. That’s what gives us the power and wisdom to turn away from our sins and follow Him. That’s what gives strength, and understanding, and power.

 

A Leap of Faith

 

God’s grace goes against every natural thought process of mankind. It’s unexpected. It’s undeserved. It’s unexplainable. It’s unfathomable. It takes a leap of faith to pick ourselves up when we fall. It takes faith to lift our heads with the dignity bought by Christ and push aside the devil’s lies so we can claim God’s grace and try again.

 

The more I allow the truth of the Gospel— God’s ultimate demonstration of grace—to affect the way I think, the more power I end up having over sin, and the more I begin to experience the abundant life He promised.

 

Note: This article was originally published in the Spring 2017 edition of Girlz 4 Christ Magazine. You can find out more about their ministry at girlz4christ.org, or check them out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Girlz4ChristMagazine), and instagram (www.instagram.com/g4cmag).

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