Vital signs- Sunday, February 27th, 2022

Replace Condemnation with Confidence

You've probably noticed that your confidence ebbs and flows. It varies greatly from day to day: one day you're up and one day you're down. What causes that? In part, it's about what is going on inside of you. The Bible teaches, "If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God." (1 John 3:21 NIV) When we face life's hurts, habits, and hang-ups, it's important that we walk out of self-condemnation and into the faithful confidence that God forgives us. What causes self-condemnation? Unresolved guilt - King David wrote, "There was a time when I wouldn't admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration." (Psalms 32:3 TLB) Unrealistic expectations - also known as perfectionism - the feeling that I must be flawless, that I must be perfect, that I must please everybody, that I always have to do more, that I'm not allowed to relax. If you're a perfectionist, your favorite phrase is, "I should I must I ought I have to." You're always doing more. The Bible says, "Even perfection has its limits, but [God's] commands have no limit." (Psalms 119:96 NLT) Both guilt and perfectionism cause a lack of confidence in our lives.

Let go and let God!