APOSTOLIC News

You can’t undo anything you’ve already done, but you can face up to it. You can tell the truth. You can seek forgiveness. You can forgive yourself. And then let God do the rest.

So you’ve made some mistakes in your life?  You’re not alone.   People are imperfect and do wrong from time to time.  The world is full of examples of this, and so is the Bible.

Let’s first look at the life of Jacob, a man who is also part of the lineage of Jesus.  It’s pretty apparent from what we read about Jacob’s life that he is a wheeler dealer type of guy.  His deceptive motives caused so much trouble in the family that his mother had to send him away to another part of the country or his brother was going to kill him.  The good news in this story is that God continued to work with Jacob throughout his life, and in the end, with a repented and renewed heart towards God, he becomes this amazing man that we are all still talking about.  (Gen 25, 27 & 32)

Then there is David, a man of valor, a courageous military leader and the most incredible King of Israel.  The Bible calls him, “A man after God’s own heart.”  So what mistake does he make?  Well, David decides that it’s ok for him to watch another man’s wife take a bath.  He then calls her to his room and the next thing you know, she’s pregnant.   To make it worse, he kills her husband so he can marry him herself.  Who can forgive that?  Well, God can and did forgive David although there were consequences to his sin, nevertheless, he repented and God forgave.  (2 Samuel 11 )

Here is one of my favorites, the Apostle Peter.  He walked and talked with Jesus.  He saw many miracles and even participated in a few.  Jesus told him that there would come a day that in spite of all Peter had seen and heard (remember he was the one that walked on the water); Peter was going to deny he ever followed Christ.  Peter said, “No way!” But as soon as someone asks him if he was a follower of Christ, he made it clear that he was not.  To make it even worse, he denies Him three times.  Then what does Jesus do?  Jesus tells him that He still loves him and forgives Peter.  (Mark 14)

I’ve only named a few biblical examples, but we could go on about a host of others that have failed and made mistakes like Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, the Prophet Jonah, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Samson, Beth Baus, and most likely, even you.

Yes failure happens.  It’s not only the bad guys, but the good guys.  We all make mistakes.  But the good news is that our failures don’t need to be final.  Many of the greatest people in the Bible experienced failure, yet those failures did not keep them from serving God.  They confessed their sin, learned from it and let God do the rest.  And what’s even more amazing is that God often used them in greater ways than He did before.   

So what does all of this mean to us?  

It’s simple; God will forgive you if you mess up, as long as you confess your sin to Him and turn away from it.  This is great news!  Nevertheless, believing that God genuinely loves us and will forgive us is often not the problem.  What is the problem is forgiving our selves.  Let me make something clear; forgiving yourself is not about forgetting what you’ve done, it’s simply letting go of it so that you can move on and trust God do the rest.    

      The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
         My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
         My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

                                                  Ps 18:2

Beth D. Baus is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Riverside, CA.  She teaches for Apostolic School of Theology/Hope International University and has also authored several books.  To learn more, visit her new website at www.ourhealthyfamilies.org