For the longest time, I thought that even though I had put my trust in Christ, the Lord was looking down on me for all of the things I did (or didn't do) on a daily basis. Over time, this pattern of thinking grew into a belief, and soon I felt perpetually guilty before the Lord, and so condemned.
This, of course, is so far from the truth.
"Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free."
and the truth will set you free."
~ John 8:32
I don't know if anyone else has struggled with this mindset before, but if so, I want you to know it is a complete lie. Once you are in Christ, you can enjoy peace and security and safe pasture with Jesus. Believing that the Lord looks down on you robs you of the intimacy you could have with Him and actually gives the devil the victory. There is no condemnation here.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
~ Romans 8:1-2
Fixing a mindset such as mine takes time, but it starts with taking God at His Word. Yes, Lord, I want to BELIEVE that what You say is truer than true, and hide it so deep within my heart that I cannot help but overflow with healthy thoughts. What You say is true. If what I think and feel do not line up with You, then it is You to whom I must listen.
"But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation, if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel."
~ Colossians 1:22-23a
Above all, know that God is crazy in love with you. He created you, and knows your weaknesses and died so that you may live in a free, delightful relationship with Him.
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
~ John 3:17
+ What helps you to run to truth? How do you embrace freedom on a daily basis? And, pray tell, what is your favorite twenty one pilots song?
I love the title of this post and how you tied it into that truth.
ReplyDeleteits one of my favorite lyrics.
:)
Thanks! There are literally so many nuggets of wisdom in twenty one pilots' lyrics. A MINEFIELD OF GOLD <3
DeleteI love this post so much! God's love and truth gives us complete freedom from the world's sin and judgement! Recently I've been getting so excited about how much God loves us (which I know seems like an arbitrary and well-known fact to a lot of people, but like, the most perfect and holy being in all of existence cares about you and me. HE LOVES US SO MUCH).
ReplyDeleteMy favorite TwentyOne Pilots song recently has been Kitchen Sink. I finally mastered the rap!
Thank you so much! I love your heart and enthusiasm for God's love. That's how we SHOULD feel every day! I have a daily prayer journal and this morning's verse was Romans 8:38-39, all about how nothing can separate us from God's love. :)
DeleteOoh, that's a good one! YOU HAVE MAD RAP SKEELZ, YO
PREACH, ERIN, PREACH.
ReplyDeleteThis is full of so much truth that I could actually just explode.
Aw, you're the best! Thank you!
DeleteWow. Erin. This is the second time I've completely and utterly related to every word you say. I've been struggling with the exact same thing for a very long time now. But we can do it, we can over come this monster of doubt and fear and guilt. I've decided I'm going to press on and fight this as much as I can. "God is within her, she will not fall".
ReplyDelete(P.S. ooh. fav TØP song. that's a toughy. currently "Heathens" is constantly stuck in my head and I'm learning to play it on the keyboard, but gotta say my all time faves are "Car Radio" and "Holding Onto You". Those songs are what made me fall in love with the band in the first place. But "Ode to Sleep" is pretty rad too. As well as countless other songs that I don't have space to list here :P)
O | Life as a Young Lady
Oh my word, I love that verse that you quoted! It's such a battle sometimes, thoughts against truth. Thank you so much for commenting and reading! I really appreciate it. I pray that God would awaken both of us to how wonderful His grace and mercy truly is!
DeleteI love Heathens! But you're so right about Car Radio...that song is a keeper for sure. I think Trees is also really wonderful. That whole Vessel album has some gems!
I so much know this feeling! It's such a struggle between 'what is actually permitted by God' and 'what is just what I want but shouldn't do' and 'what am I scared of doing that is actually fine it's just looked down on traditionally'? Sigh. As for Twenty One Pilots, I'm actually just getting into them. I'm loving Hometown and the mute math session Tear in My Heart. But those are just two that come to mind- their lyrics are really grabbing my attention now that I've started to listen to them more xx nina
ReplyDeleteYou summed it up perfectly! There's a lot of trepidation and I think it can distract from really leaning into a relationship with Christ. I want to have my eyes on Him! YES THE MUTEMATH SESSIONS <3 Tear in My Heart is my favorite re-worked song on that EP. Love it so much!! And you're so right about their lyrics - they're poetry and power, yo. Thanks for commenting! :)
DeleteUm, Erin, the truths of God here ROCK.
ReplyDeleteSurprise, I've struggled with this too. Right as I started reading your post I thought of Romans 8 (because Romans 8 has an answer for everything), and then you put it in your post! Those are my go-to verses when I struggle with feeling like a failure. Something that also hit me on the head with truth and humility and FREEDOM is the truth that IT IS NOT ABOUT ME. When it's not about me, suddenly I see a lot more of Jesus and His grace and a lot less of my shortcomings or successes.
GREAT POST MY FRIEND!!!
You are the best! I love Romans 8. It is so full of wisdom and verses that completely set my mind at ease. It is quite possibly my favorite chapter in the Bible, and that's saying something!
DeleteI hate that you've struggled with this but I'm glad I'm not alone! I love your insight about it not being about us, because it's not!! Right now I'm so in awe of God's complete patience with me, because I am a piece of work!
As always, thanks for commenting. Your comments always make me smile! :-)
Romans 8 is my favorite (if I am forced to choose)!
DeleteAnd wow, God is so patient. Like, I can't even wait a red light without getting impatient, and God waits a lifetime for us to get it.
Same! :) There is so much richness in there. I'm actually going to go read it right now!
DeleteGosh, I'm the same way. He has been above and beyond patient and gentle with me this week even when I'm crazy, lol. I'm so grateful that He keeps giving me more grace!
Love and needed this 💙
ReplyDeleteHailey
haileyhudson.wordpress.com
Thank you!! :)
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