Daily Devotional for March 31, 2020
Not Defeated
At her youth group outing at an ice skating rink, Piper clung to the handrail when she first stepped onto the ice. She was skating for the first time. It looked so easy, but she found it to be much harder than it looked. She finally let go of the rail and eased out onto the ice. She was doing quite well when her feet suddenly seemed to slide right out from under her, and she fell. “Whoa!” she exclaimed. She got up slowly, went back to the handrail, and hung on once more.
After a while, Piper ventured out onto the ice again. As kids zoomed by, she lost her balance, and down she went. She got up slowly, skated a short distance, and then…oops! She fell again…and again! Piper finally headed for a bench and sat down—and stayed there. Mrs. Bell, her teacher, sat down beside her. “Need some help?” she asked.
Piper shook her head. “It’s no use. I keep falling.”
“Skating takes practice,” said Mrs. Bell. “Forget about falling, and keep trying. Come skate with me. I’m sure you can learn to do it.”
Piper wasn’t so sure, but she agreed to try again. By the time they were ready to leave, she was doing much better and having a great time.
At church the next day, Mrs. Bell walked up to Piper. “As I watched you learn to skate yesterday, it made me think of our lesson for today,” she said. “It’s about how we can keep sin from defeating us, and you gave us an illustration of what we need to do.”
“Really?” asked Piper. “What did I do?”
“Even though you fell several times, you didn’t just sit around and feel bad about it. You got up and went on learning to skate,” replied Mrs. Bell. “That’s what we need to do when we sin. We confess it to Jesus and ask Him for forgiveness, but then we need to forget it and go on living for Him. He forgives us and continues working in our lives to make us more like Him. We shouldn’t let ourselves feel defeated by sin, but Jesus defeated it for us! We can accept His forgiveness and then get back on our feet and keep walking with Him.” Betty J. Thomas
How about you?
Do you feel down and defeated by things you’ve done that were wrong? Do you ask God’s forgiveness several times before you really feel forgiven? If you’re truly sorry for something you’ve done, confess it to Jesus. He promises to forgive you. You don’t have to keep dwelling on what you’ve done in the past. Leave the sins you’ve confessed behind and go on living for Him.
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