Poisonous Arrows

When something bad happens to you, forgiving yourself is never easy. Our human nature feels bad about our errors, and is not very quick to forget… What make it more difficult are the poisonous arrows that Satan will keep throwing at you, to prevent your healing and restoration.

Those poisonous arrows are shame and guilt, which will usually come to you either as your own thoughts, or out of the mouth of others. You must accept the fact that although an error,  a sin, has been committed, God wants you to heal from the hurt and restore your wellbeing – physically, emotionally and spiritually. God has no use for your guilt and shame; God wants you to be restored and overcome the sin and error, and most of all – the pain. Even when God talks about the wicked, He says: “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye” (Ezekiel 18:32). God takes no pleasure in us getting stuck in a prison cell of bad thoughts and feelings, even if they seem positive… Many people will consider this feeling of guilt and shame as a good Christian conscience, but that is a lie…

Let’s take an example. Let’s say, you went into business with an unbeliever, who ended up cheating you, and ruining your work… Your heart will tell you that you were a fool to trust him – that is your guilt speaking, and that is what I talked about in my previous blog entry. I’m not saying that it is altogether wrong, I’m just saying that “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)… When you concentrate on feeling sorry, you don’t heal… Your relationship with God is affected, because your shame makes you feel unworthy to approach Him. Don’t fall into that trap!

The other aspect of it is what people will tell you. Some people become very self-righteous when they look at someone else’s misfortunes. They will throw at you the most poisonous arrows without even realizing it… they mean well to a degree, but are being used as a weapon against you. They will tell you, for example, that you shouldn’t have gone into business with an unbeliever, that the Bible warns us, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?” (2 Corinthians 6:14) and they will add other very righteous looking warnings and exhortations. That too is a lie. God alone knows your heart and the hearts of the people involved. Don’t listen to people who try to make you feel bad about what happened! They are an obstacle in your road to healing.

God is compassionate. Jesus died for all our sins – past, present and future. All we need to do is to renounce sin and confess our redemption in Jesus Christ – and all is forgiven…

You don’t need to please people, and you certainly don’t need to please Satan.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus … For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8).

Allow yourself some time alone with God. Don’t listen to anything but the words of His comforting Holy Spirit.

Let yourself be healed, restore your relationship with God, and when you are done, you will be a much more useful servant to Him that you would if you drowned in self-pity…