As a child in God’s family, you’re still going to mess up… a lot. I think that’s one of the hardest lessons Christians have to learn. Many of us, when we become Christians, we’re under this false impression that things are about to become a lot easier and life’s choices will become crystal clear. We think that having God in our corner means easy-breezy living.
Although having God in your corner does mean you will have the best counsel available, it doesn’t mean taking that counsel will be the easiest, most obvious choice to make. In fact, it’s often quite the opposite. Everything in the world entices you with promises of happiness and comfort fashioned with a big red bow on top. And although God promises eternal salvation, the world promises quick and swift reward. It’s hard to choose the eternal when the immediate benefit is beating down the door, right? And therefore, we often choose what the world has to offer over God’s gift of salvation.
Luckily for you and me, God’s love is so great that he will continue to forgive us even when we choose the world’s ways over His. And the great thing about His forgiveness and mercy is that it never runs dry. God loves you so much that when you sin, admit it, and ask for His forgiveness He gives it freely and restores the relationship that your sin severed. He welcomes you back home with open arms.
Psalm 103:12 “….as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Just like you prayed to Jesus to come into your life, now you can ask Jesus to forgive you. The only difference is that you will not need to ask Jesus back into your heart. He is already there.
So how do you hear Him over everything else demanding your attention? And how do you benefit from his mercy and grace?
When you mess up, simply go to God and ask him to forgive you. Satan does not want you to ask forgiveness for your sins and he will whisper in your ear that God hates you and could never forgive you. Satan is called the Father of Lies for a reason and this is his biggest and most powerful of lies because it keeps you from accepting God’s grace so you can remain an active member of His family. The Bible says that if you confess your sin He will forgive you. If Satan can only tell lies, should we listen to him or should we listen to God?
Finally, know that this state of sin is only temporary. The day is coming where we will not need to worry about sin or temptation any more. We will be in heaven with Jesus and live like we were intended to live. However, until that time comes, God will continue to forgive you as long as you continue to ask.
