STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP!

Matthew 22:39 NIV And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Things happen in our everyday lives and we act or react sometimes according to how we feel at the time. We know we have the Holy Spirit’s help to deal with things, but there are times when we don’t always act the way we’re supposed to!

So what do we do about it? If we’ve said or done something that wasn’t helpful or even harmful, then we know we can ask the Lord to forgive us.(1 John 1:9) But what about forgiving ourselves? I know people who are still beating themselves up for something they did years ago and they haven’t been able to move forward because of it.

Recently I was feeling disgruntled and couldn’t figure out what was the matter when the Lord showed me I wasn’t forgiving myself for something I’d already asked and received His forgiveness for. God is not condemning us, and He doesn’t want us condemning ourselves or beating ourselves up all the time either, because if we do, we won’t like ourselves and we’ll have no peace inside!

Jesus said, ‘Love others as you love yourself’. Now if we’re not loving ourselves, the implication is that we won’t be able to love others as we should.😊

Jesus wasn’t saying to have an egotistical love, but because we’re loved and accepted by God even with our failings, so we can love and accept ourselves where we’re at right now. We need to remember we are still a work in progress and He’s changing us on the inside all the time.😊 

He wants us to be encouraged by how far we’ve come, to focus on the truth that He has made us righteous. We can focus on Jesus’ perfection not on our imperfections.

So I hope that helps somebody today, to know God wants you to forgive yourself and be at peace on the inside, because God has already forgiven you - to love yourself so you can love others. He wants you to get your joy back and rejoice in His forgiveness and love for you today. Amen.😊

Photo by Ekaterina Shakharova on Unsplash

OUR FATHER KNOWS

Matthew 10:29-31 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

The little birds have been coming to the bird table every morning for their take away meals and just recently we’ve had snow, ice, freezing fog, and below freezing temperatures. It amazes me how the little birds survive the extreme cold at all!

It reminded me of Jesus saying how His Heavenly Father knows when even a sparrow falls to the ground and how He cares about each one of them. He goes on to say how much more His Father knows and cares about us, how valuable we are to Him, and how reassuring that is.

Have you ever been tempted to think God has gone off somewhere and forgotten about you? Well be assured if He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and how many hairs you have on your head, there’s never a moment when our Father doesn’t know what’s going on in your life too.😊

So when life gets upset and we’re distressed and troubled we can remember Jesus said, “So don’t be afraid”. We can remember the sparrows and remind ourselves of these verses: 

Psalm 107:19-20 NKJV Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 20 He sent His word and healed them. And delivered them from their destructions.

Psalm 63:7-8 Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.

God is delivering us and just like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings, God does the same for us - we’re sheltering under His wings today, held securely by His love. So no matter what our distress or trouble is, we have our Father to cling to and those reassuring truths to take us through our day.😊 Amen.

Photo: Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash