When You Can't Forgive Yourself

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A pastor stands in front of thousands every week,

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preaching about grace, forgiveness, and the freedom

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found in Christ. But behind the scenes, Craig Groeschel, the

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founder of Life. Church, was drowning in guilt and shame.

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He's spoken about a season early in ministry when he felt like a

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fraud, leading others while privately wondering if his past

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disqualified him. He knew the right answers, and he preached

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no condemnation to everyone else. But when he looked in the mirror,

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all he saw was unworthiness. Why would someone who teaches grace

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for a living struggle so deeply to receive it for himself?

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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger, and

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today we're talking about one of the hardest battles many

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believers face, and that is forgiving yourself. But Romans,

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chapter 8, verse 1, says, So now there is no condemnation for

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those who belong to Christ Jesus. No condemnation. Not less

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condemnation. on hold until you mess up again. No, it says no

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condemnation. If you belong to Christ, the verdict is final.

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The case is closed. God has declared you forgiven, righteous,

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and free. And yet, so many of us live like the judge is still

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deliberating. We replay our failures, and we rehearse our

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shame. We sometimes look at our past and think, Yes, God

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forgives others. But what I did is different. What I did is

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worse. I should have known better. Now, this is one thing

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that I know. When you refuse to forgive yourself after God has

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forgiven you, you're not being humble. You're disagreeing with

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God. You're saying your standard is higher than His. You're

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holding court on a case He's already dismissed. That's not

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humility. That's unbelief dressed up as guilt. Now, I want

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to be careful here. There's a difference between conviction

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and condemnation. Conviction is the Holy Spirit pointing out sin

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so you can repent and be restored. It leads you toward

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God. Condemnation is the enemy's voice telling you you're

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worthless, you're disqualified, and you're beyond hope. It

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pushes you away from God. If you've confessed your sin and

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turned from it, conviction has done its job. What remains is

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often condemnation, and that's not from God. Psalm 103.12 says,

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He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. If

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God has removed your sin that far, why do we keep walking back

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to pick it up? Some of us have been carrying shame for years.

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Maybe it's a moral failure or a broken relationship. It's

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possibly words we said that we can't take back. Choices that

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hurt people we love. And every time we start to feel free, the

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enemy whispers, Remember what you did. You don't deserve grace.

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But grace was never about deserving. That's the whole

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point. If you could earn it, then it wouldn't be grace. Craig

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realized he was believing the gospel for everyone except

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himself. He was offering Romans 8.1 to his congregation while

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living under constant self-accusation. The turning

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point came when he chose to trust God's word over his own

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feelings, to stop rehearsing sins that had already been

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removed as far as the east is from the west. Freedom didn't

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come from finally feeling worthy. It came from accepting that

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God's verdict is final, even when his heart still accused him.

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If God no longer condemns you, you don't have the authority to

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keep condemning yourself. Accepting his forgiveness isn't

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optional. It's obedience. Maybe that's where you are today.

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You've confessed and you've repented, but you haven't let

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yourself be free. You're still punishing yourself for something

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God has already forgiven. Here's what I want you to understand.

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Accepting God's forgiveness is not arrogance. It's trust. It's

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saying, Lord, I believe what you said about me more than what I

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feel about myself. You may not feel forgiven, and you may not

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feel worthy, but feelings are not the final word. God's word

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is. And his word said, There is no condemnation for those who

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belong to Christ Jesus. Here's today's challenge. Think of one

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thing from your past that you've been holding against yourself.

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Something maybe you keep rehearsing, something that still

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makes you feel disqualified or unworthy. Now, out loud, if you

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can, say this, God has forgiven me for this. There is no

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condemnation for me in Christ. I don't have the authority to keep

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condemning myself. I receive his forgiveness today. You may need

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to say it more than once. You may need to say it every day for

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a while. That's okay. You're retraining your heart to believe

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what God has already declared. been carrying guilt and shame

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for far too long. We believe the lie that we are beyond your

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grace, that our past disqualifies us, and that we

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don't deserve to be free. Forgive us for disagreeing with

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your verdict. Help us to accept the forgiveness you've already

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given. When the accuser reminds us of our past, remind us of

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your word. There is no condemnation for those who

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belong to Christ Jesus. Set us free today. In Jesus' name, amen.

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If this episode encouraged you, would you share it with someone

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who might be stuck in shame and self-condemnation? Just send

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them the link from the show notes below. they may need this

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reminder that God's verdict is final. Thanks for joining me

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today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, if God no

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longer condemns you in Christ, you don't have the authority to

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keep condemning yourself. Come back next time for more

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encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until

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then, God bless, and have a great day.