As christians, it is so easy to slip into the bondage of legalistic thinking. Believing that we must first be good enough to receive from God (forgiveness, freedom, the Holy Spirit, etc...). We slip, we fall, then instead of running to the feet of Jesus for restoration, we feel too unworthy, too ashamed, we feel as though we do not deserve another chance from the Lord, so there we sit bound in our own guilt and shame.
In order to receive freedom from this bondage, we must fix our eyes on Jesus and His holy Word. We must believe what He says of us. Lord, I pray that we would grasp your promise that Your grace is sufficient for us, for Your strength is made perfect in weakness. (II Cor 12:9) We can not make it on our own strength!
He has given us His Spirit to guide and comfort us through every stage of life. When we feel too unworthy to receive or accept His forgiveness and freedom, I pray that we would be reminded that the Father is waiting for His prodigal sons and daughters to simply return.
No amount of perfect living or guilt or shame can buy our way back to Christ. We were not able to pay our way to Him when we first received salvation. We must come back to Him with the same humility as we did when we first believed that He alone holds the power to redeem.
Jesus came for those who had need, not for those who thought they were perfect and could make it on their own.“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.””(Mark 2:17)
Reinhard Bonke said it well during a speech in which he addressed how we who are saved so often feel unworthy to receive the Spirit. He said: “The baptism, the fire of the Holy Spirit, is not the super charge for super saints. It is for those who need power to run the marathon. You do not need power as a reward for a marathon after you have run it, you need it at the beginning to run it...It is not a reward, it is an enablement to run the marathon for God”
Keep running the race for the Lord, wether you “feel” good enough or not!
Just.
Keep.
Running.
Remain humble and submit yourself to the correction and love of the Lord. He will lead our steps and guide our paths so long as we will open our heart and allow Him to become the center of our life again.
