Moving On

Moving On

Bible: 2 Samuel 12:1-23

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more (ISAIAH 43:25) .

Reading

How do we pick ourselves up after a mess up? How do we move on when we feel like we’ve let everyone down?
We can learn from King David after his affair with Bathsheba . Though the terrible results of his actions couldn’t be avoided (2 SAM. 12:11-12,14), he found his way back to God . He messed up big time, but that didn’t mean his relationship with God was over . It meant that he needed God more than ever!

We can do what David did in his failure: honestly admit we’ve got things wrong (V.13) and ask for God’s forgiveness . Then we can ask God to spare others any pain from our actions (V.16) . Finally, we need to accept that sometimes the results of our selfishness simply cannot be avoided . We simply have to rely on God to bring us through them . We don’t want our wrongs to haunt us or cause more problems, but if they do, we mustn’t let them stop us walking with God (VV.20-23) .

The devil doesn’t just want us to mess up . He wants us to give up because of our mistakes . He wants us to stop walking with God altogether . When we’ve blown things, we need to remember why Jesus died: to pay for all our sin . Don’t let your mess ups stop you living for Jesus and making Him known . We can move on from failure .

Thinking it Over

If you’re struggling to move on from something you’ve done, why not talk to God about what these verses mean: Proverbs 24:16 and 1 John 1:9 .

GOD FORGIVES OUR SINS COMPLETELY; SO WE NEVER HAVE A REASON TO STOP WALKING CLOSELY WITH HIM.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries