What does God say, when you mess up and feel broken?

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

He doesn't beat us over the head with our mistakes. His love for us is everlasting. He is compassionate and he knows that though we try hard, sometimes we will make mistakes. He sees and knows our broken hearts. He knows our fears and struggles. He will help us through them, and in time, He will heal us of them all.

Psalm 145:14 - “The Lord upholds all who fall; and lifts up all who are bowed down.”

Our God watches over His people at all times – When we fail, we can turn to God and ask for forgiveness, and also find comfort in scripture verses about failure, which show God is indeed, still with us, knows our sorrows, and is eager to forgive. He knows every tear that falls from our eyes. He is intimately aware of, and cares for our suffering, as noted in Psalm 56:8 and Revelation 21:4, which speaks of God keeping track of our tears and promising to wipe them away.

"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" Psalm 56:8

Yes, God loves us so much, he even keeps track of our tears. When we sin, we don't have to hide from God or ever be afraid. He still loves us, even though we sin at times. However, it is important to admit to ourselves that we have sinned, confess it, then ask for God to forgive us. He wants us to come to him, so he can forgive us, heal our hurting heart, and restore our fellowship with him. He remembers our sins no more. Hebrews 8:12

So why do we still feel bad after we have repented?

It's not what you think. God has already forgiven and forgotten your sin. That means it's a closed subject....not even remembered by God. God's grace covers your confessed sin and declares you "not guilty" before God, because of what Jesus did on the cross to pay for our sins. So why do we still feel guilty?

It is not because God is still punishing you or holding a grudge. That matter has been closed in God's mind. It's because sorrow sometimes lingers in our mind. It helps to remind us not to commit the same sin again...to be careful of our thoughts and actions, so we won't want to sin again. It creates within believers, a motivation to do better and to pay attention to what we say and do, so we're not drawn in by temptation to sin again, but depend upon God to give us the strength and wisdom not to repeat the sin. In this way, good does come out of bad... if we learn from the lesson. When we love God, we're not glad we sinned, but we can be grateful for the lesson, as this is the way we learn and grow in the Lord.

But don't forget...

When God forgives us, he wants us to also forgive ourselves. I know that's not easy, but it is just as much a sin, to keep beating ourselves up over past sins, keep track of them, or to keep dwelling on them. When God forgives us, in His eyes, "It is finished." The matter is closed and the key thrown away! God doesn't want you to keep record of it, nor pay attention to it anymore. It has been confessed and forgiven, so leave it in the past where it belongs. Your not going that way.

The main thing is, you learned a lesson. And to keep bringing it up and throwing it up in God's face once again, is an insult to God. It's saying, "Yeah, I know you said you forgive me, but I don't quite believe you." There's no trust there. You have not one good reason, to hold on to what God has already forgiven. It's sinful and only hurtful to yourself, to keep reminding yourself of a painful incident from the past. You must resist the temptation from Satan, to dig up your dead past by constantly overthinking and punishing yourself. This is not what God planned, nor wants for your life. Not when he has given you the victory. Keep your focus on Jesus and these thoughts won't keep hounding and tempting you.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Don't live like a beat up Christian. Some may struggle with feelings of guilt and shame related to past actions, leading them to engage in self-punishing behaviors as a way to cope with these negative emotions. Some religions or "spiritual practices" emphasize the importance of atonement for wrongdoing, leading individuals to falsely believe that self-punishment or penance, is necessary to atone for sins or to purify the soul. Nothing in the Bible says that is of God...nor does God approve of it. The Bible is crystal clear, when it says one cannot pay for their own sins nor earn their way to heaven! Salvation is a gift, not something to be earned through good deeds or works. It is received through faith and grace, not through human effort or merit.

A strong sense of self-criticism and negativity, does not profit you, but keeps you bound in sin. That's not what God wants for your life. That is totally unnecessary. Though unhealthy strict self-discipline may be seen by some as a form of penance and spiritual discipline intended to share in the sufferings of Jesus or to focus on God, he doesn’t see it that way. Nor does he require or demand that we engage in such abusive self-punishing behaviors as a way to cope with negative emotions. Jesus took our sins to the cross, so that we could be spared and forgiven...relieved of the burden of them, never to remember them again. He took our punishment upon himself and has given us the strength and victory to overcome. Therefore, He wants us to focus on Him, pay attention to what we're saying and doing, and be on guard against the temptations of Satan. Remember...the power of God residing within each believer, is greater than the power of the devil or evil in this world...empowering us to overcome. Stand firm in your faith and do not be swayed by Satan, temptation, false teachings, nor worldly influences.

We Are Not Helpless Nor Hopeless

We have the power of the Holy Spirit within us...the divine presence that dwells within each of us, who believe in Jesus Christ and His resurrection power. We have that same power to overcome evil, temptation by Satan, and his influence in this world. We possess and have been gifted the very same Holy Spirit power that lives in God himself, to overcome temptation. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead! That's a lot of power! Holy Spirit power! Enough to resist Satan when he tries to tempt us, and when we do that, scripture says Satan will flee. Just remember who you are in Christ, and you shall have victory over sin.

"Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4