Come to God with Confidence
Especially When You Really Mess Up
A temptation we all face, especially when we keep messing up in the same area over and over again, is to avoid God. We realize our rottenness and at least subconsciously feel God must be sick of us.
Let me encourage you that when you sin, run, run hard towards God; not away from Him.
Adam and Eve ran from God and hid from him after they sinned. We realize that God is sinless. He is holy, He is light and in Him there is no darkness. So when we blow it, again, it is very human to let shame and guilt push us away from God.
But again, I would challenge you; when you sin, don’t give in to that old nature response. Run, sprint, go all out in the direction of the only One who can cleanse, heal, and restore you.
“in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” (Ephesians 3:12)
This passage, along with many others, makes clear we can come to God with confidence, rather than shame or in fear, because we come to Him in Jesus’ own righteousness. We do not come to God based on how good we are but instead on how good Jesus is…and He is perfect.
That is the power of the cross and the resurrection. We are spiritually united with Jesus so anytime the Father sees us, He sees us in His Son. We didn’t earn it; it is a gift, but it is the gift God loves to give.
With this confidence and acceptance, we can confess our struggles, sins, and weaknesses. We do not have to hide from Him. He already knows. Instead we can say, “Jesus, I know I really messed up today. I treated Tom harshly, I looked at some junk on the internet, and I gave in to fear. I take responsibility, I turn away from it and ask you to cleanse me and empower me to get rid of this garbage.”
God Does Not Reject You When You Blow It
God does not stop loving you when you mess up, and He does not close the door so you cannot come to Him. If any of us had to be good enough, none of us could ever come to Him. So, when you screw up, don’t run away or let the enemy tell you that God is sick of your repeated failures.
Know that Jesus is good enough and you are coming to God based on His “good enoughness,” not yours.
Face your sin, confess it, and receive God’s cleansing and empowering as many times as you need to. God’s mercy and kindness in Jesus is unending.
How I Practice This
The famous 19th century evangelist, Charles Finney, once said that the longer he is a Christian the more aware he is of the depth of his sin. As a maturing Christ-follower we live with this tension. The more we experience God’s cleansing and healing, the deeper He goes so we can experience more and more the abundant life of Jesus.
After cleansing us from the bigger surface sins (drunkenness, stealing, sleeping around, etc.), God goes continually deeper to get to the root causes of our misery and failure. I know I have to stay focused on the righteousness God has given me in Christ and that God knew all this about me when He made me His child.
He loved me when I ignored Him, how much more does God want me to experience His love now that I love Him back and want to live a life that pleases Him. So, when I mess up, especially in a particularly hurtful or ugly way, I force myself to run to Him based on Jesus’ perfection and God’s amazing grace and love. RUN to Him, especially when you mess up!
If you want more resources on living a Jesus-centered, Jesus-empowered life take a look at www.TruVineMission.com
Want help clarifying and then doing your unique, God-given purpose and calling? Go to www.MarkFurlongCoaching.com
