Day 25: Learn to Forgive Yourself

Dear Little Princess,

In addition to forgiving others, you need to learn to forgive yourself.  Although not everyone has a hard time with forgiving themselves, this struggle is common enough that I wanted to address it.

It’s easy to fall into the unbiblical belief that we’ve sinned too greatly to be used by God or that God cannot or will not forgive us.  But I want you to know that nothing you can do or have done is too much for God to forgive.  Consider the example of the Apostle Paul.  He had Stephen killed; he persecuted followers of Christ; he was an evil man before he was saved.  Far from preventing God from using him, Paul’s former life kept him humble and enabled him to do mightily things for the furtherance of the gospel.

This doesn’t mean that you should go out and deliberately sin just so that you can relate to other people who have fallen into similar temptation (Paul addresses that issue in one of his letters to the Early Church), but it does mean that we serve an incredible God who not only forgives the most wretched sinner but Who can use our broken lives for our good and His glory.

If we cannot forgive ourselves, it means that we actually do not believe that God can or will forgive us.  It means that we have a too-small view of God’s power.  Chances are also good that we are dwelling too much on ourselves and our sin.  It’s good for us to think about and learn from our sins and mistakes, but dwelling excessively on them is actually a form of selfishness, because it means that we are thinking about ourselves the too much and about the Lord too little.

If you find yourself struggling to forgive yourself, Little Princess, start by praying.  Thank the Lord for His goodness.  Praise Him for His greatness.  Dwell on His mercy.  Read the Scripture passages on Christ’s death and resurrection.  Read about His tenderness toward the people to whom He ministered.  The more you focus on the Savior and the less you focus on yourself, the easier it will be to forgive yourself and to move on in your spiritual walk.

All my love,

Mommy