Not Defeated

READ: PSALM 32:1-5; ROMANS 6:12-14; 8:1-4; 1 JOHN 1:9

Do you ever feel down and defeated by things you’ve done that were wrong? Do you find yourself asking God for forgiveness several times before you really feel forgiven? If so, you’re not alone; we all feel this way sometimes. But there is good news.

Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that God has already forgiven all our sins—past, present, and future—because of Jesus’s death and resurrection. As we walk through life with Jesus, we will continue to struggle with sin until He makes all things new. But even when we stumble and fall, Jesus doesn’t leave us. He is right there with us, inviting us to confess what we’ve done wrong and rest in His sure forgiveness. Then we are free to leave our sin in the past, get back on our feet, and keep walking with Him.

No matter how many times we fail, God forgives us and continues working in our lives to make us more like Jesus. We don’t need to let ourselves feel defeated by sin, because Jesus has already defeated sin for us! When He died on the cross for us, His last words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30). God Himself paid the full penalty for our sin with His own life. There is no debt left to repay. And after three days in a tomb, Jesus rose from the grave—declaring His joyous victory over sin and death!

Our God is so much more powerful than any sin we could ever commit. And His love for us is far greater than any guilty feelings that might creep into our lives. So, whenever we’ve done something wrong, we can confess it to Jesus, knowing with absolute certainty that He promises to forgive us. We don’t have to keep dwelling on what we’ve done in the past. Instead, leaving the sins we’ve confessed behind, we can go forward in our walk with Him. He loves us, and He will never leave us. • A. W. Smith

• How can resting in Jesus’s victory over sin and death empower us to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5:1-2), to freely love God and people as we go through life, instead of being weighed down by guilt and shame?

• Who are trusted Christians in your life you can be honest with about your struggles? How can you comfort and encourage each other when you’re facing a particularly tempting sin pattern?

Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (CSB)