Forgiving Yourself

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)

In Psalm 32, David wrote a song that talks about how he found the way back to redemption, restoration, and reconciliation. In this song, David tells us how to plant your feet on the solid rock of forgiveness and turn the sadness of a fault into the gladness of forgiveness.

There is a reason why you have confessed things you have done wrong and repented of them and have truly asked for forgiveness, but you still don’t feel forgiven. You struggle with guilt, and I know why. I hear it all the time, “I still can’t forgive myself.” So over the next couple of days, I am going to show you how to do that today once and for all. Let’s start with the first step you must take, and then we’ll cover the second and third steps tomorrow.

First, in order to forgive yourself, you must recognize your sin. Initially, David tried to hide what he did, and just like David, we all have this tendency to cover up when we have messed up. We all carry a broom with us that just wants to sweep things under the rug. How many times do we do something wrong and then we try to analyze it and rationalize it when we say, “Everybody is doing it” or “This is not going to hurt anybody.” Then oftentimes, we blame the problem on something else or somebody else, because we are living in a “no fault” society.  

David finally realized you will never get clean until you come clean. David was not put on the freeway of forgiveness until he finally recognized his sin and did it fully.

So with that in mind, what sin do you need to recognize in your life? What behaviors or thought patterns do you need to stop rationalizing so that you can repent and move forward? My hope is that you will spend time in prayer today and ask the Lord to reveal those sins to you so that you can recognize them and begin taking steps down the path of self-forgiveness.

Dear Father, I don’t want to remain stuck in a state of guilt. I want to experience the freedom that comes from forgiveness. Please help me to recognize my sin so that I can forgive myself for what I’ve done wrong and move forward in freedom that is found in Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.