Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you ever wonder why we avoid talking to God? Think about this: we know we need to pray. Yet there's something in us that often avoids God.
The Two Primary Barriers
I think the two primary barriers and reasons that we don't approach God with confidence is because we have shame in our lives and we have guilt. That shame can be because of a present sin. Maybe you're wrestling with an addiction right now, and you're like, man, I just can't defeat this addiction. What that does is it strips us of confidence.
I know I've seen that in my life. When I'm wrestling with something and I'm like, I don't know if I want to talk to God because I keep wrestling with the same thing, so shame overtakes me and then I lose confidence in approaching God.
I think the other reason we don't approach God with boldness and we avoid talking to Him is because we're wrestling with guilt. Maybe that guilt is from past sins where you're like, I don't know if God actually forgave me of that sin, and those sins just haunt us. What that does is it strips you and I of confidence to talk to God.
The Verse Gives Me Assurance
What I love about our verse is that it gives me assurance and confidence because I'm in right standing with God.
Listen to the verse again: "Since we have been made right in God's sight." If you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you have been made right in God's sight.
Then it says, "By the blood of Christ." What's the blood of Christ? It's when Jesus went to the cross and absorbed the wrath that you and I deserved.
How God Looks at Us
Now when we place our faith in Him, here's how God looks at us. He says: "Now you're righteous. You're holy. You're accepted."
The enemy is now going to feed us a different message. The enemy is going to tell us: you're too dirty to be made new. Look, you've been wrestling with this sin for years. Do you really think God is going to approve you? Do you really think God wants to hear from you?
Preach This to Yourself
You must preach this to yourself next time you have those thoughts, because the enemy will attack our minds. Remind yourself that you have been made right in God's sight, and you can approach God with boldness.
Then it says this: "By the blood of Christ, and He will certainly save us from God's condemnation."
We Are Not Condemned
What are we ultimately saved from? We're safe from the wrath of God. We are not condemned. Romans chapter 8, verse 1 would tell us that there's no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.
A Loving Father
I don't know where you're wrestling with today. Maybe it is guilt. Maybe it is shame because you're wrestling with a specific sin. I want to remind you: you have a loving Father that loves you and wants to hear from you.