At my men's Bible study this morning, we discussed how sometimes we feel we don't deserve God's grace and that sometimes we don't allow ourselves to feel forgiven. This was an interesting topic to me. I have never discussed those thoughts within a small group before and found it to be quite a learning experience. One of the men had a sheet that he had printed of a paper that helped with understanding that regardless of our past, we can still be called by the Lord to do his work. Many names from the Bible were referenced in this letter. Here are a few that I wanted to share.
Moses stuttered; David had an affair; Paul was a murderer; Jonah ran from God; Naomi was a widow.
Satan tells you,"You're not worthy." Jesus responds, "So what? I AM." I believe these examples support that we are worthy. There are an abundance of reasons why each one of us shouldn't be used by God, but it only takes one reason why we should be. That reason is that God sees us for who we can be, not who we are now or who we have been. When you accept Christ as your personal Savior, God no longer sees your past. The circumstances we go through in our lives help prepare us for our future. As we grow deeper in our love for the Lord, he uses the lessons we've learned to help others.
I hope and pray that as you seek the Lord and ask for forgiveness that you realize the Lord forgives once and that is enough. Our flesh might struggle to forgive ourselves, but the Lord forgives the first time we ask. Make it your focus to forgive your self once so that you can whole-heartedly accomplish the Lord's work he has planned through you.
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