Moving Forward From Sin

I feel like there's a time in everyone's life when we truly just regret something that we have done in the past. Have you ever been there? Are you there now, just beating yourself up over something that you did or something that you said?

After sitting in regret for a little while, normally the guilt turns into self condemnation, and Satan loves that. But according to Scripture, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ (Romans 8:1) Sadly, a lot of us don't always remember that when faced with feelings of oppression.

Sure, we mess up. We sin. We fall short. But we also have a Father who loves us and willingly forgives us when we ask. We have to acknowledge our conviction, repent, ask for forgiveness, but then we have to move forward.

Satan so often traps us in guilt and condemnation when we choose to stay focused on our mistakes and our pasts. He thrives when we get caught up in shame and become focused on our pasts because he knows that there's no possible way to truly follow Christ with our heads turned behind us.

Think about it... You can't walk a straight line with your head turned around, can you? So what makes you think that you can keep your eyes on Christ and follow Him wholeheartedly while you're stuck in the past?

You don't have to wallow in self pity or condemnation after you've repented from your sins. When you find yourself with your head hung low in shame, remind yourself that your Father is not giving you those feelings of oppression. You have the power to get rid of those feelings; read scripture, pray, and choose to believe the way God truly views you and your situation. He loves you. He treasures you. And He forgives you.