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Rogue-Ranger — Forgive Yourself
Published: 2018-02-08 11:02:46 +0000 UTC; Views: 930; Favourites: 58; Downloads: 3
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Description
Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself. You hold onto guilt and regret and beat yourself up over the past. But you deserve to move on. It's time to forgive yourself.Related content
Comments: 15
I love this stamp. Thanks for making it. Is it okay to use it?
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Of course, use it however you want. You're welcome and sorry for the late reply.
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I agree with both of those And sorry for the late reply.
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Don't worry about time!!! 
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hey Chris, 
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Pretty much everything I make with a message is something I need to remember because it's something I'm learning, so I have plenty of experience with getting caught up in regret. We're not perfect and we will sometimes fall to human frailties. Paul laments this quite articulately as you may recall. In fact, I can't think of anyone who hasn't had regrets that bog them down at some point.
You consciously know God forgives you, but maybe you don't feel they forgave you? Did you apologize or ask forgiveness from any of the group members? It could be that it feels unresolved. Do you need them to tell you they want you to come in order to believe it or in order to get some source of acceptance from them? If it's acceptance, you may subconsciously feel they don't or shouldn't forgive you. Again, it would then be the feelings are unresolved. Maybe you'd be embarrassed to bring up what you said, so you'd have to weigh doing that and hearing their forgiveness or letting it go and forgiving yourself. It's up to you if you feel either is a path to take.
I don't need to tell you that human opinion is fleeting and that God's opinion is what matters, but maybe you still long for human approval. The thing is, that's not so horrible. Imagine if you didn't care what others think. "Who cares what you think? Not me!" That'd be rather cold! So, it's okay to care about others to the extent that what they think and feel matters to you. However, you can't let it matter to you more than what God thinks and He's said there in black and white that you are loved and that He's faithful to cleanse us from righteousness if we simply confess and seek His will. He'll never abandon or forsake us and His approval is all we truly need. But, still, it's okay to care about others and their thoughts and feelings. Just keep it in perspective.
You also say "and believe it would rejoice", so maybe that's part of it too: doubt? Doubt isn't bad in and of itself. You should doubt or be skeptical of a lot of things, including your own negative view of yourself. It's just that God's forgiveness isn't one of those things that warrants doubt or skepticism. It's not a gray area.
There's also another possibility. We're all human beings with feelings and faults. It's unrealistic to expect that we won't have regrets. In fact, you might look back at this time of doubt with regret over how you feel at some point, as ironic as that would be. So, regret will come, but we can use what we regret to learn. See, regrets are either burdens we carry around that weigh us down or lessons we learn from to carry us forward. So, have you learned from your mistakes and regrets? Maybe not? Maybe that's why it feels unresolved. And maybe God is actually trying to teach you something and it's not all just your inability to move on. Maybe He needs you to learn and won't take it away until you have.
So, rather than run from what you did and try to just get rid of it or cover it, focus on what you did and what you've learned. God has a way of using our mistakes to help us grow and further His work in us. Maybe once you see the big picture of what you did and the result, then God will take it away and you'll find the peace you need. That's what happened once I understood the good that God brought forth out of the tragedy of a death that I blamed myself for.
Also, another thing I've found helps is simple gratitude. If you focus on how thankful you are for the group and for the friends, it will make it that much easier to go, because you don't need reassurance anymore.
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I see this stamp as in not waiting for some imaginary friend to forgive you.
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That's one way of seeing it. If they're imaginary, you'll be waiting a long time. But, if you've learned from your mistakes, they've served their purpose, as regret is how our human brain learns from mistakes. So, forgive yourself and move on with your life. You deserve that much.
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So true. I have a really hard time with this. Thank you for making this.
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You're welcome! And we all have a hard time with this sometimes, which is why a reminder is good.
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