The life of a believer is a journey from the moment we make the decision to follow Jesus. In this journey we are being transformed continuously into the image of Christ. This process, however, is not automatic; we might make mistakes and it can become hard to pick up from where we were and keep going, therefore we opt for going in hiding.
An example of this can be seen in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve had just sinned in the garden of Eden:
Genesis 3:8
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
As soon as they realised they had sinned, they hid away from God. Amazingly in verse 9 God was looking out and calling out for Adam saying: where art thou?
I remember when I was 16/17 and had just began my walk with God, there were so so many things I was trying to fix and change: attitude, character and sinful habits. There was a particular sin I was struggling with and decided to make things right with God.
In my heart I felt like this would be easy. I’d just decide to change and just like that old habits would vanish. But we all know that old habits die hard and I realised it was going to be a process. However, every time I had a setback or went back to my old ways the guilt would be so overwhelming. My solution was to find a way to punish myself.
I remember days when I would think, “I’m not going to read my bible for 3-4 days,” so that it would give me enough time to feel pure or good again. Or I’d say, “oh I can’t possibly pray or ask God for help right now, not after what I have done.” Let’s not even talk about going to church; that was the worst part. One day when I was in a low state I realised I could hear the voice of God telling me to reach out, and actually trying to comfort me and remind me of His word.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I understood that the moment I confessed and asked God for forgiveness, right there and then I was forgiven. There was no other ritual, act or punishment I could do to make it right, because Jesus has done that for us already.
Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us.
This means God doesn’t see the sin anymore. The hard part is actually for us to see ourselves as He sees us. Well It’s time to stop running. God is waiting for you to reach out to Him, so He can forgive you and cleanse you from every sin.
You may be used to running away from God when you make mistakes or when struggling with something. Whatever it is, you are forgiven; and not only that, God is interested in helping you out of it. Yay, isn’t that wonderful?! I urge you to reach out to Him in moments of weakness or temptation. You don’t have to run away, just reach out….He’s waiting for you.
Guest Contributor – Alessandra Oyeloba
Amen, i used to punish myself too, ashamed to approach Him for what seemed like thousandth time. But im grateful i now knw the truth