Condemning

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Romans 8:1

Doesn’t everyone have it all together? My house is clean. I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish at work. My attitude with my husband has been perfect. I have excelled in parenting and disciplining my children.

Umm . . . no.

Ok, maybe each of those things has been true at some point. But every single one, every single day? Not so much. I have often felt like a failure in each of these areas. It seems that I just cannot measure up. I’m not good enough on my own.

Would you be surprised if I told you that some days I miss my quiet time? Don’t be. I do. Another confession: I have never read through the entire Bible. My several attempts ended in Leviticus.

So now you know. What should I do? Try harder? Quit?

One thing God has taught me from Quiet Time Seminary is not to be so hard on myself. I don’t think God looks down on us thinking, tsk, tsk, tsk . . . You didn’t have a quiet time. Bad choice. Condemnation is not from the Lord. The enemy is hoping you’ll believe his lies that you are not good enough and just quit. Lies, I tell you, lies!

God wants to spend that time with us; He loves us! He wants to share His joy, wisdom, and peace with us. He wants to change the desires of our hearts to line up with the desires of His Heart. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of you heart (Psalm 37:4).

When I learned to quit listening to condemnation from the enemy, I started feeling more free to enjoy my relationship with the Father. Really enjoy Him. I still mess up, but I don’t let condemnation push me down. Rather, I willingly get on my knees before the Father. When you fail, and you will, start fresh. No condemnation.

I started again on my attempt to read through the Bible a year or so ago. This time I’m trying a different order/approach. I probably won’t get it done even this year - It might even take longer. And I’m okay with that. Pretty sure my LORD is, too. 

Julie Smith