Are you overwhelmingly discouraged – and so, so, so embarrassed? As you make big stupid choices and constant small ones, do you feel as if the guilt of your sins will eventually crush you? You’ve failed and failed – and failed – so often that you don’t know where to go from here.

It’s hard not to believe the thoughts that play constantly in your head that you’ll never change. False (untrue) thoughts beget more false thoughts, until eventually you become convinced that the lies are true. Worse, you no longer recognize who you are.

The more we dwell on our sins, the more we perceive ourselves as failures. The more we see ourselves as failures, the more we hate ourselves. Consequently, the more we hate life.

Perhaps you see something in those Christ-followers you’ve been observing, but you can’t figure out what their secret is. They have something you don’t. Whatever it is, you want it – if only you can figure out what “it” is.

I was once there.

Thankfully, our heavenly Father knows us. He understands our pain. He sympathizes with our failures. When we allow Him to enter our dysfunction, we experience what it’s like to be whole. We discover the person we are in Him – because of Him. We discover the “it” we’re craving.

Satan does his best work when he tricks us into believing we’re hopeless. He convinces us God really doesn’t care, that He’s too busy helping “more worthy” people. But our heavenly Father loves being our God. He desires for us to go to Him when we fail so “we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 ESV).

When we believe we’re hopeless, Satan is keeping us from experiencing our Father’s redeeming love for us.  How much He suffered for us.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV) says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I love this verse! When we place our complete faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, we rise to a whole new way of living, because Christ Himself (Who loves us so much) lives in us. Our lives are transformed because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and enables us to overcome the “stupid” sins, big and small.

The instant we repent of our sins, we receive God’s forgiveness. Immediately, we’re one second further away from our old behavior, thereby putting distance between us and it.

And we finally have the power to experience the victory our soul craves.

Sheryl H. Boldt is a faith columnist and the author of the blog www.TodayCanBeDifferent.net. You can reach her at SherylHBoldt@gmail.com.