“What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record” (Psalm 32:1-2 TLB).
Feeling guilty or ashamed can cause us to lose our happiness. You’ve got to get rid of guilt and maintain a clear conscience if you want to be happy, because you cannot feel guilty and be happy at the same time. Philippians 2:15 says, “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people” (NLT). You might say, “I’d like to be happy, but how do I keep my conscience clear when it’s not clear right now?” Do what Psalm 32:1-2 says: “What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record” (TLB). Happiness, joy, and relief are three things everybody’s looking for in life. We all want to be happy. We all want to enjoy life. We all want relief from our pain. The Bible says it all comes from purity, and purity comes from forgiveness through God’s grace. How do you keep a clear conscience? At the beginning and at the end of every day, do a spiritual inventory. Talk to God about anything that is standing between you and him, and then deal with the junk from your day. You practice what’s called spiritual breathing—you breathe out your sins in confession and you breathe in God’s power and cleansing: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV).
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“I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9 NLT).
Legalism will rob you of happiness. It’s the attitude that you have to prove your love to God, which means you have to make sure you do everything exactly right. It’s thinking you have to follow rules and regulations and restrictions in order to prove yourself worthy. One of the consequences of being legalistic is that we then force the same expectations on others, thinking they also have to prove their worth to God. Legalism will suck your life dry of happiness. It sucks churches dry of happiness. Everybody’s just there out of duty or guilt. How do you know when you’re being legalistic? It’s when you’re judgmental of other people. How do you know when you’re living by grace? It’s when you’re gracious to others. People who live by grace often find it easier to forgive because they recognize that God continues to forgive them. When you finally realize there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more, it is one of the most liberating feelings in the world. And it is a key to happiness. Every day, remind yourself of God’s grace, and relax in it. “[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV).
We all blow it from time to time. We don’t have to live with guilt, but we do have to live with our mistakes. The Bible never hides this truth. It is painfully honest about the failures of its heroes. God saved the world from flood through a man named Noah—who then got drunk, naked, and blew it all. Moses led the children of Israel through the Red Sea and into freedom—yet his anger kept him out of the Promised Land. King David was a man after God’s heart but also had an affair and murdered the woman’s husband so he wouldn’t be discovered. God realizes our frailty. If he only used perfect people, the Bible would be a pretty short book. But, God has a solution for our failures: grace. The Bible says, “[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV). In fact, if you look at all those failures in the Bible, you get a clear picture. Just like those heroes of the Bible, you and I are trophies of God’s grace. Your primary witness to the world around you isn’t all the great things you do for God. It’s how you handle mistakes you’ve made. Do you mope or do you revel in the grace of God? People want to meet a God who turns failures into triumphs. People want to meet a God who can transform the lives of broken people. The amazing part of God’s grace isn’t just his power to forgive. It’s also the strength he gives us when we start over. “God knows what we are made of; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14 GNT).
Your failures don’t surprise God. He expects them. He knows what we’re made of—because he created us. The Bible says, “God knows what we are made of; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14 GNT). God won’t stop loving us when we mess up. The central message of the Bible is this: God doesn’t love you because of who you are or what you’ve done but because of who he is and what he has done. God made you. He loves you. It's settled! You can't make God love you more. You can't make him love you less. He loves you just as much on your bad days as he does on your good days. His love is not performance based. The Bible has a word for this. It’s called grace—and it’s absolutely amazing. God looks down and says, "I choose to love you. And you can't make me stop loving you." Even when we’re ridiculously bad, God won’t stop loving us. It truly is amazing grace. When you understand his grace, you can relax about your failures and have the confidence to take more risks. You may have come to God multiple times for forgiveness on the same issue. Maybe you’re not sure you deserve his love and grace. And you’re sure that God has grown tired of your constant efforts at change. But you can relax. God never tires of a conversation with you. He’s never too busy. No matter how many times you come to him for forgiveness, he’ll be waiting with open arms. You may have grown up in a home where conditional love was the norm. Your parents’ affections may have been based on your academic, athletic, or social successes. When you failed in one of those areas, you felt the loss of your family’s love. Relax. That’s not how God deals with you. The Bible says, "[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14 NCV). The Christian life isn’t a mistake-free life, but it can be a guilt-free life. God understands your failures, and he loves you anyway. That’s amazing grace! “[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV).
Each of us blows it from time to time. The Christian life is a guilt-free life, but it’s not a mistake-free life. The Bible never hides this truth. It is painfully honest about the failures of its heroes. God saved the world after a flood through a man named Noah—who then got drunk and naked, and blew it all. Moses led the children of Israel through the Red Sea and into freedom—yet his anger kept him out of the Promised Land. The Bible tells the story of King David, a man after God’s own heart—who then had an affair and arranged the murder of the woman’s husband so he wouldn’t be discovered. God realizes our frailty. If God only used perfect people, the Bible would be a pretty short book. In fact, he has a solution for our failures: grace. The Bible says, “[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV). If you look at all those failures in Scripture, you get a clear picture. Each of us—just like those heroes of the Bible—are trophies of God’s grace. Your primary witness to the world around you isn’t all the great stuff you do for God. It’s how you handle mistakes you’ve made. Do you mope or do you revel in the grace of God? People want to meet a God who turns failures into triumphs. People want to meet a God who can transform broken lives. The amazing part of God’s grace isn’t just his power to forgive. It’s the strength he gives us when we start over. It’s the strength God gives us when we become trophies of his grace. “[God] knows what we are made of; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14 GNT).
Your failures don’t surprise God. He expects them. He knows what we’re made of—because he created us. The Bible says, “[God] knows what we are made of; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14 GNT). God won’t stop loving you when you mess up. The central message of the Bible is this: God doesn’t love you because of who you are or what you’ve done but because of who he is and what he has done. God made you. He loves you. It’s settled. You can’t make God love you more. You can’t make God love you less. He loves you just as much on your bad days as he does on your good days. His love is not performance-based. The Bible has a word for this: grace. And it’s absolutely amazing. God looks at you and says, “I choose to love you. And you can’t make me stop loving you.” Even when we’re ridiculously bad, God won’t stop loving us. It truly is amazing grace. When you realize his grace, you can relax about your failures—and have the confidence to take more risks. You may have gone to God multiple times for forgiveness on the same issue. Maybe you’re not sure you deserve his love and grace. (You can settle that now. You don’t.) And you’re convinced that God has grown tired of your constant efforts at change. (He hasn’t.) God never tires of a conversation with you. He’s never too busy. No matter how many times you go to him for forgiveness, he’ll be waiting with open arms. You may have grown up in a home where conditional love was the norm. Your parents’ affections may have been based on your academic, athletic, or social successes. When you failed in one of those areas, you felt the loss of your family’s love. You can relax. That’s not how God deals with you. The Bible says, “[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV). The Christian life isn’t a mistake-free life, but it can be a guilt-free life. God understands your failures—and he loves you anyway. That’s God’s amazing grace! ”Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace” (Hebrews 12:15 NCV). How do you learn to “R.E.L.A.X.” in the liberating grace of God? R—Realize nobody’s perfect. Psalm 119:96 is a verse directed toward God, and it declares, “Nothing is perfect except your words” (TLB). What society tells you isn’t perfect. What popular opinion tells you isn’t perfect. What you learned growing up isn’t perfect. But God’s Word is perfect. When you get in the Bible and build your life on it, you will have a perfect foundation. E—Enjoy God’s unconditional love. The Bible says, “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children—think of it—and we really are!” (1 John 3:1 TLB) When you become a follower of Christ, you’re not just a servant of God anymore. You are a child of the King. A servant is accepted on the basis of what he does; a child is accepted on the basis of who he is. A servant starts the day anxious and worried that her work will please her master; a child rests in the secure love of her family. A servant is accepted because of his workmanship; a child is accepted because of his relationship. L—Let God handle things. What do you do about the uncontrollable things in life? “Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV). When you’re fishing and you cast a line, there comes a point where you have to take your finger off the button and let it go. Just like the essence of casting is letting go, to overcome perfectionism you have to let go and let God do his work. A—Act in faith, not fear. Remember how you got into God’s family in the first place. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” There’s no other way to get into heaven except by grace. You’ll never be good enough, and you can’t buy your way in. It’s a free gift from God. X--Exchange your perfectionism for God’s peace. Perfectionism destroys peace. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (ESV). What a deal! You’re going to fail a lot in life. But you don’t have to worry about it if you’ve received God’s grace. In fact, there’s only one failure you ever need to worry about: “Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace” (Hebrews 12:15 NCV). Receive it right now, and then relax! |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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