Dearest Christian,
You are loved beyond measure. You are held together by the divine hands of the only true God. Jesus Christ His son died for you. His death on the cross is the grim reality of the total sacrifice that was sufficient and acceptable for paying our great debt for sin. There is no side-stepping the unfathomable truth that Christ – who knew no sin, became sin for us (1 Corinthians 5:21); But even more importantly – He rose from the dead for you that you might share in the blessing and not the curse. He conquered sin and death so that we would not be conquered by them anymore. You are no longer guilty beloved Christian! You are forgiven and sanctified (set apart, purified, legitimized, made useful). Lift up your head and be strengthened in your feeble heart! God’s heart for you is strong and consistent and His faithfulness has been as sure as the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars since they were created.
The mountains of the earth would have no strength under the weight of His power and yet He never bares that weight carelessly to crush nor mercilessly to destroy. Like a father who admires His child with excitement, He will eventually lift you above His weight to lighten the load of your burdens and doubts. You may say, “my burdens and doubts still remain.” Not with Him. He does not minimize your concerns, but neither does He entertain the lies that are superimposed upon your conscience when you fall short of His glory. Christian, you are His child and have the right to repent of your wrongdoing and then get up instantly when you fall. Move forward in confidence as an accepted member of the family of God. You do not have to wait till you feel better or have multiple Bible readings or prayer sessions in between your confession and God’s forgiveness. You can claim your birthright as His child the moment you stand strong before the Throne of Grace. The enemy tries to keep you in the mire of guilt and shame. God wants to shower you with mercy and blessing so that you will be instantly cleansed by His forgiveness and remain that way. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous, if after you took a shower you went and rolled in the feces you were just cleansed from? And yet after we have taken a shower there are no doubts that we are washed and ready to serve, eat, drink, or lay down to rest. Of-course there are consequences for sin and of-course we are not to use God as a confession booth for things we know very well we will do again. We should feel the full weight of our sin when we disobey, but we don’t have to depreciate ourselves to that end.
Dearest Christian, Stop doubting God’s mercy and forgiveness towards you and start laying hold of the promises of God that are yours to claim. We are His children and He thinks of us that way. We have a continual audience with the King who is also our Father. We don’t have to wait to be in the Throne Room to talk with Him – we can talk with Him in any room in the house. Only stand fast in obedience and do not continue to play with fire outside the house or else God may see your heart as untrue and allow you to get burned. Its never a threat when the warning comes from a loving parent who wants to protect their child rather than see them harmed. Sometimes God will let us go with the loving expectation that one day we will come to our senses and return again to His embrace (Luke 15:17-18).
