"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3:1)
The devil tries to convince us that we have messed up so badly that God doesn't love us anymore and can't forgive us. He tries to make us think that we are failures and will never overcome. We then feel that God has given up on us. If he can convince us of these things, then we will give up hope. This is the devil's strategy.
We all have made mistakes. We all have failed at one time or another in our lives. We all have fallen short and missed the mark. We all have sinned.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23).
Sometimes, when we mess up, we feel like the worst person on the earth. We get angry at ourselves for falling short. Sometimes, we even reach the point that we say we can't forgive ourselves. We even believe that God can't or won't forgive us. People bring up our past and remind us of what we did, so we feel that we can never overcome it, so we hang onto the guilt and shame of it; when Christ has come to set us free.
In Acts 9, we read about Saul. He persecuted Christians and enjoyed doing so. He had no fear of God and no remorse for his actions. Then, he met the Lord. Once he had that encounter, his whole life was changed. His name was changed to Paul (we know him as the Apostle Paul). He wrote much of the New Testament, and became sold out for the Lord. He didn't say, "Lord, you can't forgive me, I've been too bad. I've done too many horrible things and I'm hopeless." Instead, He embraced forgiveness and salvation.
In 2 Samuel 11, King David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba, who was married to Uriah, who was in battle. Later, when David found out that Bathsheba was expecting a child, he had Uriah put on the front line of the battle to ensure he would be killed so he could marry Bathsheba. In Psalm 51, we find King David's prayer of repentance; and in Acts 13:22, God refers to David as: "a man after mine own heart". How could he be a man after God's own heart after all the horrible things he had done? He repented with great sorrow and turned from his sin. This is the key to receive forgiveness.
In Luke 22, Jesus had been arrested and was hours away from His crucifixion. Three different times, someone approached Peter and recognized that He was with Jesus. He denied each time. He finally cursed and said he didn't even know who Jesus was. Later, he wept bitterly and repented. In the New Testament church, Peter was very influential. He preached about the Lord and won souls to Christ. He was imprisoned several times for preaching in Jesus' name. God didn't say, "Peter, I can't forgive you, you have done something so horrible that you are doomed." He didn't tell Peter that he messed up too badly. Peter repented, put it behind him and led others to Christ.
So, no matter what your story is, no matter the things you have done in your past; if you have repented and turned from those sins, you are forgiven. They are in the past and they are under the blood. Stop letting the devil try to tell you that God can't forgive you because you've been too bad. Don't let him convince you that God can't love you and that He won't forgive you. Don't believe the lies from the enemy that God can't use you for His kingdom because of your past sins.
Many people won't repent because they are convinced that God won't forgive them anyway. They won't even go to church because they feel they have been too bad. These are lies from the enemy. Don't believe them.
If you have not repented of your sins, it's not too late. Confess your sins to God and ask Him to forgive you. Accept Jesus' love for you and His forgiveness. You have not been too bad that He can't forgive you. He loves you in spite of your past. Repent, let it go and move on. Experience His love today. It's the best peace you will ever know.
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