There have been several times when I’ve been at a loss for words – I’ve opened a blank Word document and begun writing, and at some point later, discovered that all my words have been lost. Sometimes this is my own fault – I’ve forgotten to ‘save’, while other times it’s a fault lying in the computer.
My response has varied from ‘it’s a crying shame’ through to ‘if at first you don’t succeed…’
It reminds me of choices, and the tracks we take.
At times I make wrong choices, some of which are my own fault, while others result from ignorance. My errors are echoed in the words of an Anglican prayer of confession, in the line:
God, we have sinned… through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault
So, what do we then do?
Do we keep looking back to the past, with guilt or regret?
Do we try to re-write what cannot be re-written?
Or do we ask, as the prayer continues:
forgive us all that is past, and lead us out of darkness to walk [in] light
Truth is, I sometimes struggle with taking a fresh start and walking in the light. The darkness of regret pulls me back and weighs me down, and I struggle to believe I am forgiven by God.
Negative self-talk keeps us in the dark, but choosing to learn from the past and to put right what we can, leads us into the light.
So, the choice is ours – to remain paralysed as miserable sinners, or move forward, forgiven and freed by God.
My head tells my heart to believe in God’s compassion, and so I’m going to choose the latter.
The fresh start that God offers, leaves me lost for words!
Truth is… Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come 2 Corinthians 5:17
What a thoroughly lovely and encouraging meditation. No matter how deep the Spirit plants the truth that God’s love is unconditional, we still refuse to believe it at times! How daft we are!
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Thank you Mary. for taking the time to comment, it’s uplifting to know that other people ‘get it’!
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Oh, this hits home since I tend to wallow in regret at times! I’ve had to learn to ask God to help me forgive myself so that I can as the apostle Paul writes forget “what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.” Wonderful devotional! Thank you; thank you!
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Thank you Lynn for your encouragement! It’s wonderful to feel ‘connected’ through our blog posts 🙂
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