“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and find grace to strengthen us”.

Hebrews 4:16

Forgiving others who have hurt us can be incredibly challenging but forgiving ourselves can be difficult as well. There are many times we find the strength to forgive others, while sadly, we self – sentence ourselves and remain shackled with shame and guilt from our own sin.

Jesus commands us to “love our neighbors as ourselves” but when we have not fully grasped how deep God’s love is for us and accepted that we too are worthy of forgiveness, it can be difficult for us to grasp how much we should love others. Allowing ourselves to wallow in our past by replaying our mistakes in our minds will wear us down and keep us from fulfilling our full potential that God intends for us. It not only denies us the joy of God’s forgiveness and grace, but it also denies others the blessing of full accord.

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love! He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever” (Psalm 103:8-9). God’s unfailing love for us is as high as the heavens and as far as the east is from the west. And that is how much He has already forgiven you! And even though you may still feel guilty, God is greater than your guilt (I John 3:20) and is longing to set you free.

Jesus died so that we can fully live – trusting Him and rejoicing in our salvation. He takes our burdens and makes them light. But we must be willing to receive His mercy, accept His forgiveness, and use His strength to let go of our guilt. Forgiving ourselves will never change what happened, but it will absolutely free us to move forward into the abundant life that God so graciously offers. What we see as impossible, God sees as victory.  May you go boldly into His throne today and receive his mercy and grace.

12 words

Releasing your guilt to God frees you to enjoy abundance in Him.

Dear God, thank you for your generous compassion and your unfailing love for me. I ask your forgiveness for what is holding me back. Help me to release those things from my heart and surrender my guilt to you. God, I need rest and I know that my peace comes only from you. Give me the strength that I need to forgive myself, and the grace that I need to love others as myself. You are good God and I love you. Amen.

Scripture Reflection:
Psalm 103:1-12
Matthew 11:28-30
I John 3:18-21