Fear of Past Sin

Fear of Past Sin

Lord, Can you forgive the greatness of our sins?

Today I’m going to:

Set my eyes forward on Gods path for my life

Pray for courage and strength to overcome strife

Photo by Ruth-E

 

Often we focus on how much we have disappointed God; how we have let Him down and in doing so, have let ourselves down. It is so easy to focus on our iniquities rather than the ways that we may have made God smile. We feel unworthy and when we feel as if we’ve failed and it is easy to get caught up to the point where we feel so bad about our weaknesses that we can feel defeated and so discouraged that we do nothing to step forward into God’s plan for us.

We read that God is love; that His son has been sent as an atonement for our sins. We are promised that once we have confessed our sins, God reconciles us to Him through the body and blood that His son gave up for us. This is not only a divine thought, but one that is foreign to our human nature which is finite and emotional. Our human nature finds God’s unconditional love almost too good to believe as we witness our own frailties and those of the people around us.

If you were the parent of a child that refused to try to take another step because they fell once, you would do all within your power to encourage that child to learn to walk again. If the child failed a math test, you would encourage them to study, review, try again until the lesson was learned.

God is our Heavenly Father and loves us infinitely and completely. His patience for us to grasp the magnitude of how unfailing His love is, is as great as His love for us.

God has a purpose all of our lives. Meaning that He has pre-ordained a plan for us to share His love in some way with others. It may be that God has given you a heart to pray for others; it may be that He has called you to leave what you know to serve others in a foreign land. You may be called to write, or to be a loving example to others so that others can, through your presence want more of His love, which all of our spirits long for.

If you feel that you have failed God, failed in life, failed yourself and the others that God has put in your life; seek God’s forgiveness and then move on as if the past was not there. Once we ask forgiveness, God forgives AND forgets. It is gone. He allowed His son to carry our sins unto death to assure our forgiveness.

Any fear that we have is not of God’s world. Fear is not of God. Ask God to rid you of fear and to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to give you the courage to step out of whatever is trapping you away from carrying out His loving plan for you. You will feel the beauty of God’s love wash over you as you move forward.

May you be blessed in your walk and encouraged in your moments of frailty, to step out in the arms of God’s love.

PS 119; 9 – 12

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.

 

Little Caterpillar

To follow yesterday’s piece Cocooned

Little caterpillar low on the ground

Trapped on your belly, crawling around

Seeing the world from the mud down below

You scamper and scurry with so many feet

Void of direction and feeling defeat

Never thinking your destination is more than you know

You take note of the birds and ponder the sky

A soul-haunting dream – oh that you could fly

The world is so big and then there’s just one little you

Sadly you scurry –  too many directions

Surviving your minutes and lacking protection

To not get trampled or picked; to just make it through

You are tired and weary, the days are so long

Your ears are atuned to a far-away song

So high in the trees, these birds sing out your name

You ignore it forever, but weariness wins,

You climb up the tree burdened with sins

To come up and visit, to rest a while from life’s game

Knowing nothing but dirt, you start the ascent

But your poor tired body is horribly spent

Your eyes are half closed and you feel as if you’re near dead

You slip into the darkness and welcome the cave

As you leave your tomorrows, ever so brave

Now high in the tree, rest your beautiful head

The deepest of sleeps has taken you now

The world left behind you, you’ve had your last bow

But sweet dreams of freedom sing louder, calling you near

You awake to realize you are chained in this cave

You struggle to free your self – ever so brave

If only you hadn’t awoken, sleep quenched your fear

You fight and you toil pushing hard with your force

Regretting the day that you changed to this course

Is this all that there is, this bondage-filled fate?

Yet the sun bursts through in a glorious stream!

A crack in the cave wall as if in a dream

So close to breaking out that you hardly can wait.

Away falls your prison, you are free now to crawl..

But wait, what is this, you’re not crawling at all

Beautiful wings envelope you, way up in that tree!

Oh my, that you would try to soar

You lift off, take flight, you see so much more.

Your every dream fulfilled after your toil

Things look different from where you are now

Hope crowns your tomorrows, joy lifts your brow

No more life in the dirt,  you are far from the soil

Cocooned

Cocooned

Lord, I feel like I just want to curl up into a dark little cocoon and forget about the world.

Today I’m going to;

Open my eyes even when I want to hide in the dark

I will praise God for His light and that He’s with me as I walk

When things are difficult day after day, month after month, life can be so daunting to face alone.  So many times it would seem that the easiest thing to do would be to just close ourselves up into a cocoon and blanket ourselves in the darkness forgetting all of our struggles and pain.

 

The cocoon is where God touches the creature of the ground and with His beauty, a butterfly is born.  The butterfly feels the struggle without seeing the beauty as it struggles to free itself, but God’s plan is always waiting for it to push through.  Remember that in your struggles, God has His plan.  He is with you and has a plan for your days.  Every struggle is not in vain.  Every day will be used for your good and His glory.  You ARE the beautiful creature that God is creating.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed

Lord, I feel completely overwhelmed

Today I’m going to;

Pick a task and know that with You, it’s not too big

Compared to Your greatness, this task isn’t a forest, but a twig

When in the midst of the forest, it is easy to get lost in thinking about the magnitude of the forest and the innumerable trees; We may get glimpses of the sun shining through the tops of the trees, but it is our nature to worry about how we will ever get out of the tangles instead of just taking our very next step.

In fact, focusing on how lost we are can cripple us to the point that we cannot take a step in any direction. It is hard to know where to start when things seem out of control, whether it be taking care of your home, finances, family, a project at work, etc. Remember that Our Father carries our burdens with us and He is the compass that leads us, guides us and has planned our every moment of every day.

Ex 29:30  See; I am sending an angel ahead of you to guide you along the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared (for you).

Feeling Alone

Lord, I feel so Alone

Today I’m going to… 

Look outside and see the morning sky

Remembering that God is good, He’s perfect and He’s nigh

Feeling Alone

Today is a new day.  Jesus teaches us to live today for today and not to carry the burdens of our past – mistakes, wrongs, regrets. The past is His – just give it to Him. Today is not tomorrow, so there is no need to be anxious and throughout the bible, God urges us to trust Him in faith for all of our days. 

Our Heavenly Father promises us that our future is full of hope in His hands. Embrace His love as He loves you every minute of your existence. Step outside and take a deep breath, let our Father’s love spill over you like the warmth of a warm oil that fills you with peace and joy. Sigh out your worries in thanks to God, knowing that all is in His loving, precious hands.

Rom 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.