When we fail, we can beat ourselves up for several hours, days or months, or we can be cleansed instantly and return to peace and rest. Demons howl in laughter if I beat myself up, for I have removed myself from God’s presence, and stepped out of the kingdom of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17) and into the kingdom of demonic lies and accusations.
So I have learned to return immediately to peace and rest by repenting instantly and receiving Christ’s cleansing blood and words of comfort. I then put on His robe of righteous (Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:24), a righteousness which is by faith (Phil. 3:9) in His finished work, rather than my ineffective strivings.
The journaling below came after an individual had been beating themselves up for several days. The question is a key question I often ask the Lord.
Lord, what is the good that You are bringing forth in my life through my failure?
I always take everything and turn it for your good. That is what I do. That is what I specialize in. I am the only one who can do this. The enemy of your soul cannot, and neither you nor anyone else has the divine capability to take what is seemingly dark and disastrous and turn into a beautiful work of art. In My divine perspective and My eternal power, I see the much bigger picture as I did before I formed and spoke the vastly enormous universe.
The good that I am bringing forth in your life is that you will walk more deeply and move more wisely in Me. You will come out of this with a much keener sense of the snares of the enemy and also, and more importantly, one that will lean more heavily on your beloved. You are weak, and I am strong. You are clay, and I am eternal and the one from who strength and power flow.
One main lesson I want you to learn is to be much more aware of Me in you. Christ in you. In you, son. Not outside, not one day will be in you, but in you now.
You often walk through life feeling alone, abandoned and somehow feeling you have been left empty-handed. You ask Me, “Where are you Lord?” I am here, son. I am so here. Yet, often you are unaware of the life-giving power I have placed within you. Christ in you, the hope of ever seeing My glory.
The same power that raised Me up out of the bowels of death and Hades resides in you. I would like you to go through Scripture and look up all verses on Me in you. Glory in flesh. Power residing in weakness. Glory dwelling in human form. Your eyes have been on you the last few days, on how horrible you are, on how weak you are, on how insufficient you are.
Did I call you to make yourself your dwelling place? Did I ask you to come forth in power and strength and be the mighty man who is able to conquer anything? No. I have repeatedly laid out in My Word the secret to an overcoming and victorious lifestyle. It is only by looking at Me.
Be caught up in who I am in you, in what I have already accomplished for you in my death and resurrection. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. Is there any good in you, son?
No, Lord. All but filthy rags.
Then why do you wallow in your inability to be the strong one? Your strength is Me and only in Me. Why do you allow yourself to be swallowed up with such deep shame and guilt? Is My sacrifice not sufficient for you and your own sin? Or is it only sufficient for the “nice” sins?
You know, Lord. You know the nature of what was in my heart and how weak I was to stay strong. I fear deeply that if everyone knew my sin. I would be cast away and shunned and distanced as an unclean and unfit leper.
I loved the leper. I touched and healed the leper. Though others may see you as that, I do not. I see you as my son. I see you through the blood of My Son. He took all that you deserved. The chastisement, the punishment that you deserved for you to walk in My peace was placed on the Lamb of God. He bore it all. No sin was left out. No sickness, disease or iniquity was left out when Emmanuel took upon Himself the entire punishment for all of mankind.
That is the beautiful and full salvation I have provided for you, son. It is finished. Live in the finished reality of what I have provided for you. Live only in and out of that. Anything and all that is dwelled on or attempts to produce that is not out of what I have already accomplished are dead works, the futile attempts of man to clothe himself with some kind of covering that is so insufficient.
It is only My robe of righteousness that you can wear. That is the only clothing I recognize when anyone attempts to approach My throne. All other is filthy rags. See yourself today, now, clothed in My beautiful white and sparkling robe of My righteousness.
Once journaling is complete, we come into agreement with what God has spoken by affirming aloud His truths about ourselves as our personal, present-tense reality. {eoa}
Mark Virkler, Ph.D., has authored more than 50 books in the areas of hearing God’s voice and spiritual growth. He is the founder of Communion With God Ministries (cwgministries.org) and Christian Leadership University (cluonline.com), where the voice of God is at the center of every learning experience. Mark has taught on developing intimacy with God and spiritual healing for 30-plus years on six continents. The message has been translated into over 50 languages, and he has helped to establish more than 250 church-centered Bible schools around the world.
For the original article, visit cwgministries.org.
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