Take heart! When you mess up, God's not mad at you. In fact, He's ready to ADVOCATE for you. You are LOVED beyond measure!

"My dear children, I write this to you, so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." -1 John 2:1

Amen! This verse about mistakes, shows us that God is merciful. The word “advocate” means “to support” or “to plead for.” When you mess up, God is making a case for you. He is championing your cause! This is the amazing thing about Jesus. He takes our sin upon Himself and gives us His forgiveness - every time!

If God were directly in front of you right now, He would probably say something like:

“Come home!”
“You are forgiven, my child!"
“I still love you!”
“This doesn’t have to be your portion – through my Son, you are set free!”

God knows when we mess up and He wants us to come to Him to be free from sin and learn from our mistakes. His tone towards us, even when marked with correction, is out of compassion to see us made whole through Jesus Christ.

More Great News For You

God doesn’t define you by your biggest mistake. In fact, the Bible says He doesn’t even remember your biggest mistake, so you shouldn’t let your sin define you, either. There’s a difference between your behavior and your identity.

"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Hebrews 8:12

You are Chosen, Forgiven, and Loved

You are a child of God! God created you on purpose and for a purpose. You have the hope and promise of spending eternity in heaven!

Your identity cannot be changed by what you do. No matter what you’ve done, who you’ve disappointed or hurt - Jesus is eager to forgive you. Not only that...He wants to help you live out your purpose in life with joy!

The Bible is full of people who majorly messed up. There’s even Bible verses about messing up and verses about mistakes. Thankfully, God still helped them do amazing things in life. God renews the wrong and makes it right, when we ask for forgiveness. So don't take it upon yourself to try to right your wrong. Go to God and let Him do what only He can do... and that is forgive you, cleanse you, refresh you, and love you through the pain. God never stops loving you.

He doesn't look for all your faults or keep record of them. He knows when we're sorry and unlike our human nature, he doesn't hold grudges. He readily forgives. We don't have to beg for mercy or forgiveness. He gives it freely. Everyone makes mistakes, but God's relationship with you is not defined by your past actions and mistakes. He's not keeping count of your every little mistake. Our salvation is not based on your performance. It's based on God's eternal love for us, His promise to save us, and the work He did on the cross to save us.

God not only forgives, He forgets! He removes your sins as far as the East is from the West, and that is immeasurable. Beating yourself up is a waste of your Christian life and walk with God. He doesn't beat people up for mistakes and he doesn't want you doing it. Your sins have already been paid for. You can rejoice that God loves you/us, even when you mess up. God does not define you by your past actions. When God forgives you of your mistakes, He wants you to forgive yourself, as well, and forget them. It's a new day, a new beginning, a new life! What we thought was our end, is God starting our new life!

Remember, a person's identity is not determined by the wrong choices or mistakes they have made in the past; God sees beyond those errors and defines a person based on their potential for growth and redemption, not their past failures. God is forgiving and does not hold past mistakes against individuals who sincerely repent and strive to do better.

A Christians true identity is found in their relationship with Jesus Christ, which transcends any past mistakes. While past mistakes don't define a person, they can be seen as opportunities to learn and grow spiritually.

When You Sin, Change Your Mind & Move On!

Open your heart up to God. Talk to Him about your sin, ask for forgiveness, and ask Him to help you. Ask Him to show you how to change your mind about whatever thoughts, habits, or feelings led you to sin. There may be some activities, people, or circumstances that you need to avoid, in order to resist temptation in the future. Open your life fully to God’s help, because He wants the very best for you.

Life with God is an adventure - there will be times when you fall down, but don’t get stuck. Keep going. God is there to help you!!