Weighted Down by My Mistakes

How do I deal with the emotional trauma of my mistakes?

How long to I have to be sorry for things that I have done wrong?

How many times do I have to repent?

When will the shame go away?

It seems that sin takes a huge toll on Christians when after they have found forgiveness and a new life, they make a mistake. The feeling of freedom and joy that come from forgiveness gets clouded and blotted out when we make a mistake…commit a sin. We wonder what happened. “I thought God had dealt with this in my life when I accepted Christ?” “Here I am again, falling for the same temptations…when will it end?”

It is frustrating to know that we have let God down and maybe even other believers. But it happens to all of us. So what is the key? How do we get over #1 the habit of sin, #2 the pain of sin? How do we, once and for all, get over our carnal cravings and stop obeying our flesh? Well, it is not simple, but let’s take a quick look at scripture.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1 – 2

Sin carries with it “weight!” Weight that “clings to us,” and drags our spiritual life down, weight that bears down on our minds and spirit, weight that zaps the soul of emotional and spiritual energy and sucks it right out of us. The writer of Hebrews implores us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.” The word for “weight” in Greek literally means a mass that causes us to bend or bulge by the load. Think of it as a cancer that drains your energy and leaves you exhausted….that is what sin does to us.

So, what to do? “LAY IT DOWN!” “Sure, but how?” Three simple steps that I have learned in my life.

1.    The most obvious is to “look unto Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” Ask Him to forgive you.

2.    Forgive yourself. “Lay it down.” You made a mistake, you admit it, you are sorry, you’ve ask God to forgive you, so forgive yourself.

3.    Don’t let your sin or mistake define who you are. As a follower of Jesus you are a new creation…yes you failed a test, but that is not who you are, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Now, run the race set before you with your eyes on Jesus, not on your mistakes. Let grace do its work in your life. Lift up your head and thank God that He bore your sin and the shame that goes with it so you can walk in His righteousness.

Conclusion: People may not forgive you…but God has. When you carry your guilt and shame around, and bear the weight of you mistakes on your shoulders, others will see it there. But when you lay it down and live free in Christ, forgiven and restored, renewed and “weightless,” others will eventually forget your faults as well.

Try it!