Life Of IntegritySample

"Isaiah's Forgiving God"

There was a time in my life when I chose to go my own way and wandered away from God. Having been born into a family with two Christian parents, I had more or less inherited my faith from them. I received Christ as my Savior at a young age and I was baptized at a young age. Unfortunately, as I grew taller, my spiritual roots remained shallow. And when I experienced a personal tragedy, my faith was uprooted and overturned. I decided God wasn’t a “good enough” Shepherd because He had allowed me to get hurt.

So I became my own shepherd and I began to lead myself right off a cliff. Acting as my own shepherd, my bad habits and tendencies became addictions. I was more miserable and alone than I had ever been. One of the biggest things that kept me from recommitting myself was this idea that because I had turned away, I couldn’t come to God. I had yet to learn that it wasn’t about what I had done, but about what He had done.

All of us at one time have gone astray. Yet, in those moments, we can feel alone, as if no one has ever messed up as bad as we have. And the enemy wants to keep us isolated so we can’t learn from testimonies of those who have been brought out of the darkness before us. The Bible teaches us that the Lord laid on Jesus the sinfulness of humanity. It is important to remember God removed our sin from us and placed them on Jesus. We are separated from our sins, but the enemy will bring up our failings to try to conjure up feelings of guilt and shame, bringing our focus to ourselves and away from God.

Remember God’s love for you is not conditional to your behavior. God sent His Son to bear yours, everyone else’s sin and mine on the cross; all your sins were paid for long ago. Do not hesitate to leave your sins at the cross and to leave with forgiveness. Avoid falling into the trap of the enemy and letting guilt and condemnation make your faith self-centered; rather, let grace and healing restore you and keep your faith Christ-centered.

At this time, examine yourself and see if there are any areas of unforgiveness that need to be dealt with. Be bold and brave and walk through the process of forgiveness to experience freedom.