No matter what we’ve been involved in or where we are in our lives, we don’t have to punish ourselves or others when we mess up.

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

THINK

It happens to all of us. We take a panoramic view of our circumstances, and if we don’t like what we see, we immediately begin to point the finger at something, or someone, else. We play the blame game, because we want to punish someone or something for where we are. But God’s answer to our blame game is propitiation. That’s a difficult term that simply means God’s wrath has been satisfied.

No matter what we’ve been involved in or where we are in our lives, we don’t have to punish ourselves or others when we mess up. Jesus took God’s wrath on the cross, when He was in the ultimate act of vulnerability. Have you accepted that amazing gift? Or are you constantly blaming and punishing that which has already been satisfied?

PRAY

Thank God for the absolutely amazing gift of His forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Ask Him every day to help you recognize the reality that His wrath has been satisfied.

ACT

Write down the one thing that you have the most trouble forgiving yourself for. Now, as a picture of how God has already forgiven you Jesus Christ, tear that paper up, throw it away, and thank God again for His forgiveness.