Scripture of the day
Isaiah 55:6-7 - Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
I find 3 parts to this scripture: 1) we should always seek God with a sense of urgency, 2) we should turn from our wicked ways by controlling our thoughts and 3) God forgives generously.
It is comforting to know that Jesus forgives all and forgives generously. But we must seek out God when we have these feelings of guilt in our thoughts and actions.
And what really can be a struggle is controlling our thoughts as we turn away from sin. Satan will try to tempt you again and again to fall back into sin. Sin blocks us from God and his blessings.
The devil will also put in your mind that you are worthless or you don't deserve to be forgiven. He will bring up reminders of past failures.
We must stay focused on who we are and who we belong too. When we stumble, we need to pick ourselves up fast, ask for forgiveness and keep moving forward.
As the Apostle Paul so eloquently put it in Philippians 3:13-14, "No dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
