Forgiveness (Because that's all I could come up with)

BAM! I'm back!

I had the weirdest experience while doing laundry today. I came across my beloved Skillet shirt, the only one I have, which I bought at my first and so far only Skillet concert. I put it on its hanger, and as I straightened it out, admiring it's awesomeness, I had a sudden impulse to kiss it. Yes, I'm about the strangest individual you will ever meet.

Anyways, a lot of things have happened to me in the two weeks I've been gone. Some of them were just normal changes in life, some of them were life altering, and one in particular was amazing. I experienced forgiveness. However commonplace forgiveness may be nowadays, this forgiveness was one of the best feelings I've had in a while.

It starts with sin. I know for a fact that all of you have something you're struggling with. Some of you have told me what that thing is, and some of you might not have told anyone. Whatever it is, I can relate. For a long time now, I'd been living with sin in my life. It didn't seem like a big deal, just little things here and there. But it had been eating me away (Skillet song reference) slowly, bit by bit, until I no longer recognized it as sin.

This is how the enemy works. He knows you. He watches you. He knows where and when you'll be willing to make exceptions. He knows what you desire, what you feel you're lacking, and he will do whatever it takes to make you think you can't get that fulfillment from the Lord.

It's hard to see your sin growing. It might not feel like you're doing anything wrong after a while, so you'll let yourself go further and further until your little sin becomes something you can't control. If I know anything about anything, I'd describe your matured sin as blowing up. Yes, blowing up, and suddenly, everyone knows. No matter how well you hide and cover up the tracks of sin, you'll always get found out.

"My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes."

~Jeremiah 16:17

I love how I'm right around the same age as most of you lovely readers, because now is the time I can relate to you and what you might be going through. Because I know what you must be thinking: "But I'll just get into more trouble if I tell someone about my sin!" I know, because I've thought the same thing hundreds of times. It's better to just hide the broken vase under the table than to tell your parents and get punished, right?

Going back to my sin. I hid this for so long, and when it did come out and my parents knew, I felt considerably worse. Being disciplined isn't fun. The situation hurt, and I know it was hurting others besides my family too. But I wasn't hiding anymore, and for some reason I thought things would just get better now. I confessed hadn't I?

This wasn't the case however. My relationship with the Lord was hurting, especially in my praying. I was and still am praying about important things right now, and it literally felt like I was praying to the walls. My voice was dead air. Not only were my prayers going nowhere, I couldn't hear the voice of my Lord either. I wasn't sure what he was trying to say at all, and that scared me.

"We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will."
~John 9:31

Last night, as I sat in church praying, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to go to my parents and apologize for what I'd done, and I needed to mean it. I needed forgiveness. I asked the Lord right then and there to forgive me for what I'd done, and to give me the strength, no matter how hard it might be, to never do it again. Instantly, I could feel the Lord's presence around me again. He was there with me, and it felt amazing. As soon as I got back from church, I made things right with my parents.

These next few months are going to be some of the hardest I've had. But I'll wait for a lot longer than that if it means I can remain close to the Lord.

I encourage you guys to make things right in your life as well. Whoever it is you may be hurting through your sin, your family, your friends, or your God, go to them and ask for forgiveness. Say you're sorry and mean it. That's all it takes.

If you like, I'm always willing to listen if you need to talk. Post it on the Get Help page, or send me an email and I'll do my best to help you out. I'm praying for each one of you. I don't want anyone to ever be separated from the Lord.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
~James 5:16

P.S. I'm not able to use Facebook any longer, so if you happen to have one, I would very much appreciate it if you'd take a few seconds to share a link to this blog on your wall. Self promotion I know, but I'm shameless ;)