By: Paula Short
Guilt and shame are like handcuffs to an old life you left behind. They are familiar "friends" from a past life of sin and not a part of your new life in Christ. Sometimes guilt and shame rear their ugly green heads and speak and try to tell you that you can't come back to Christ or move forward in your relationship with him. But those are lies of the enemy—past speaking.
God watched you come to Him, and He watched you drift away. But He knew you would. You only need to remember that you belong to Him. Nothing of His ever escapes His hand. He is calling out to you every day while you're away. Nothing in this life will stop Him from pursuing you. You are His beloved, and His love for you is everlasting. He wants you to know this from His word.
"I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19— NIV
You see, God's love is total, and it reaches every corner of our experience and extends to the world. God's love continues through our lives. It rises to the heights of celebration and joy and to the depths of discouragement, despair, and death.
God loves you, not because of who you are or what you've done. He loves you totally and entirely because of who He is. Drifting happens when we take our eyes off Him. We look away from Him and to the world again, ourselves, our insecurities, failures, and shortcomings. But remember, you can never be lost to God's love.
Trust His love for you without the guilt and shame. I know it's hard sometimes, but He died for all of that. There is nothing to feel shame or guilt over. He is calling your name. Come to Him. You are already rooted in his unshakable love.
Reflection
Has guilt and shame reared its ugly green head in your life?
What does it mean to grasp the "breadth and length and height and depth?
What is the fullness of God?
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