“None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live. Ezekiel 33:16
When I read these words, I instantly felt mercy, grace, love, strength, freedom, power, and relief. The type of relief that comes when you know and can say that God has not given up on me; there is still an opportunity for change. Change first must begin within us, before it manifest to the outside. When I read this scripture, I used to think along the lines of the obvious sins, like violating the 10 commandments, but what about the sins that we commit against ourselves.
We often forget how special we are. We are divine masterpieces, formed in love; corrupted and deformed by sin; but reformed by grace. That is what Ezekiel 33:16 is telling me. However, sometimes we forget that about ourselves. In Psalm 139:13 King David wrote: “you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
We have been formed in love and are divine masterpieces. Sadly, we don’t always see ourselves that way. Instead of thanking God for the body he has given us, we wish we had a smaller nose, bigger hands, more hair, less hair, to be smarter, popular, etc. But God made each of us the way he wanted us to be and he did so in love.
One of our greatest sins is not having love for ourselves and when we do not love ourselves, how can we truly say we love one another and love God. Take a minute and remember the last time, the words that you spoke over yourself were not the most positive. Have you said, oh, I am too fat, I can’t do this, I got big, this that, or something else. Has there been something that God has required of you, and knew it was God’s voice and you have not done it. Have you cut yourself off from someone and let pride keep you away because maybe they would not understand, or even care? Have you decided that life really is not going to change, and you have stopped, praying fasting and trusting? Or even thinking about stuff and situations and ending the thoughts, so what, who cares if I do or don’t… you fill in the blank. You are not alone; many of us have fallen into despair one time or another. The danger is staying in any of these scenarios.
God is patiently waiting for us to start the process of self-love, for our repentance, and recognize that no matter what our physical features are, our mental state is – if we repent in our heart, God will remind us of His great love for us, deliver us from our bondage, and reform us into God’s own likeness – the blinders are removed from our eyes, the ever eluding joy is now all over us, and whatever sins we have committed will no longer be remembered and held against us.
The awesome thing is that God isn’t asking us to do that which he doesn’t give us the power to do. We can love ourselves; we can truly remove that pain, and love ourselves, then love our neighbors and truly love God. And as we are repentant of our negative self-talk, we have a guarantee of God’s love that sends the Holy Spirit into our lives to facilitate our changes. The more we began to let go, receive God in all of God’s glory, we will want to sing with David: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14a) and the past will no longer be remembered. Live Victoriously.
Jaqueline Rooths
Website: Soulfully Raw
Jacki’s Blog
