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Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Galatians 3:13

Each of us has ‘skeletons’ in our closets. Those things that we are ashamed of, embarrassed by, or afraid will be discovered. They are things we regret, that word spoken in anger and haste, the moment of indiscretion, things that we struggle to forget only to have them come back to haunt us continually.

To make the inner struggle worse, sometimes we bear the scars, the consequences of those decisions. Scars that will last a lifetime with no hope of ‘covering them up.’ Adding insult to injury, there always seem to be those people who are more than willing to remind us of our failings. We get called hypocrites and all sort so other names that can keep us in misery, take away our sleep, destroy our confidence and even pull us away from family and friends.

There are times when even God seems to have turned His head and abandoned, leaving us to face life alone. We begin to listen to the lies. “How can God love me when I did that to that person?” “I’m sorry God, I did it again. I promised I wouldn’t. I can’t help myself. I’m a hopeless loser” “My (Parents, siblings, ex-spouse, teachers, etc.) were right. I’ll never amount to anything. I’m destined to fail anyway.  Why try anymore?”

Rather than listen to the lies, focus your attention on the truth. Your value is not based on who you are and your worth is not dependent on your ability to ‘follow the rules’. Everything bad you have ever done, every cross word spoken, every physical or emotional attack you’ve administered, every time you have failed God and yourself was covered on the cross when Jesus died for you.

That’s what it means to be redeemed. Jesus took all the pain, guilt, shame and suffering, tied to your sin, to the cross with Him that day. The sins He bore were so ugly that even His Father, God, could not look at Him. He carried those sins into the grave and left them there. Jesus died so you could live, He rose from the dead so you could have victory over sin and He promised never ever to leave you. Nothing you have done or can do will ever separate you from His love!

Focus daily on the freedom you have through Christ. Each morning ask for His strength to help you through the day and in the evening talk with Him openly about the struggles you faced and even the times you failed. Jesus loves you and wants nothing more than for you to feel good about yourself and how you are living. Jesus longs to bind the wounds of your past, heal your scars and cleanse your guilty conscience.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus. It seems like every day I find myself failing you in the same old ways. I catch myself listening to the voices that want me to believe there is no hope for me in this world. Empower me to focus on the positive, to see what you have done for me and to rely on you for strength to live for you. Amen.