If you are hard on yourself, you struggle with condemnation. What is condemnation:
- you actually disapprove yourself
- you see yourself as a failure
- you are critical & judgmental, especially when you've made a mistake
- self-hatred
- carry guilt of the wrongs & disappointments you've experienced
- have many regrets and think about them often
- blame yourself whenever something does not go "according to plan"
If Romans 8:1 says that there should be no condemnation for those of us who believe in Jesus, then why are we hard on ourselves? In fact, this verse in the Amplified says "no guilty verdict, no punishment for those who are in Christ Jesus". And yet, we are hard on ourselves.
Condemnation is rooted in FEAR. You are afraid of failing, and the enemy has used disappointments in your life to make you believe (mindset) that you are a failure.
Condemnation is a mindset. The Bible says in 1 John 3:20 that our hearts condemn us. When you are this hard on yourself, you are still too much "law" minded. You still believe that it's all up to you. What about Grace? What about mercy? What about forgiveness? What about the fact that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God?
Fear is the reason you are always driven to not make mistakes. The truth is, we will all make mistakes and we will all miss the mark sometimes. There is no perfect person!
Condemnation, feeling guilty, being hard on yourself, is not from God! It's the enemy using this mindset you have, to hold you back and you are so focused on looking back that you don't see what's ahead. To walk around with guilt is a trap of the enemy. You need to learn to forgive yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind. It is not all up to you! Your condemnation is keeping you from seeing God's favor, forgiveness and mercy! It's stealing your joy! It's a yoke and it's heavy!
Pray with me: Holy Spirit! Please lift this heaviness of condemnation from me! Break this yoke that is limiting my thinking in Jesus Name! I don't want to carry this burden of guilt! Please renew my mind. I choose to forgive myself today. I will make mistakes, but there is always forgiveness and mercy! And I make peace with that fact, in Jesus Name. Amen
Evelyn Monteiro