Do you feel like your drowning because of the trials in your life?
Maybe it is work, bills, or relationships.
There are levels of pain, struggle, and trials.
WHAT does it take to walk on water instead of drowning?
– A RELATIONSHIP with God, not Religion. Because Faith in a person you know can get you through something not a sterile, ritualistic practice that has very little meaning to you, that is not helping you everyday like a relationship can. Religion will have you “Paying” for your past instead of accepting forgiveness and moving forward. Yes there are consequences, natural and lawful ones. If you commit a crime you go to jail or prison. But Christ died for your sins and all you have to do is humbly repent with a sincere heart. The words don’t save you or gain forgiveness. If it is just words, there will be no change. If it is from a broken, sincere heart then you will see change and growth.
– Looking forward – know God has more for you in the future than the past. We get depressed thinking about the past or even the present. We need to keep our eyes on God and moving forward to have Hope and Life.
– Don’t beat yourself up for the past. If you have asked forgiveness with a genuine heart then it is forgiven in God’s eyes and it is not your responsibility to make others forgive. You can only ask them to forgive, in a humble, repentant way, but you can not make them forgive you. Don’t let them keep putting you on trial and making you pay for something in the past. The key is you are not the same person you were then and you continue to grow in Christ and your walk with Him each day. This idea of Penance is a religious thing not scriptural. Christ paid for your sins, past, present and future, so you did not have to pay for them. The key here is your heart. If you are truly repentant then you will move towards being more Christ like and overcoming your flaws. You will be open to change and listen to others. Even if they criticize you in a mean or angry way there may be a bit of truth in it that you need to exam.