When You Feel Condemned...

We’re all prone to self-condemnation to some extent. Whether it’s from an unrealistic, perfectionistic standard, heaping guilt on ourselves for not doing enough, or wallowing in our failures and sins, it’s easy to get caught in lies of self-condemnation that scream, "You're not good enough!"

I've noticed self-condemnation emerge more during chronic illness. It's so tempting to compare to where I think I should be physically, how much I think I should be able to handle, how I still have the same sinful attitudes and responses, and get stuck in an endless cycle that only leads to deeper discouragement.

Whether I'm working through idols and sinful responses or simply navigating life with limitations, the Enemy likes to use those struggles to make me lose hope. There is a verse from Before the Throne that has been a great encouragement to me when I get stuck in self-condemnation:

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me

It is natural to despair when we create a perfectionistic standard for ourselves, think we're not doing enough, or see that we're still battling the same sin. The truth is, you and I aren't good enough. Yet the hope is we don't have to be.

Freedom from Condemnation
If you are a believer, no matter what you’ve done, you have a Savior who has made an end to all your sin—past, present, and future. You don’t have to define yourself by your past—God sees Jesus’s righteousness when He looks at you (2 Cor. 5:21). You also don't have to define yourself by your accomplishments (or subsequent lack of)—your worth is found in Christ.

What are you "stuck on" today? What perceived (or real) failure is feeding your self-condemnation? Shift your focus from all you're not doing and all the ways you don't measure up, and turn your eyes to Jesus. Look to the One who made an end to all your sin, who says it's not your performance that makes you right with God, but Jesus' performance that makes you clean. This is why there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).

When you're spiraling into despair because of the lies, look to see what the gospel really says about you. God is greater than the lies of self-condemnation (1 Jn. 3:20). Let the gospel guide your situation and direct your responsibilities as a redeemed child of God. If the fog is too thick for you to distinguish the lies from the truth, ask a friend to help you see what is true.

Instead of getting lost in the lies of self-condemnation, let's turn our hearts to the God who loves us unconditionally, and rejoice in this hope today: "The Lord redeems the life of His servants; none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned." Psalm 34:22