You’ve been here before. Not once or twice, but too many times for you to count. The pain, guilt, and loneliness begin to creep over you like a dark and ominous cloud. I did it again.

You’ve battled weeks, months, and years to remove yourself from this trap, but the enemy calls you back in. Come back where you belong. Come dwell in your brokenness. He convinces you that you were created for darkness.

As C.S. Lewis describes from the perspective of evil in his book, The Screwtape Letters, “There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human's mind against the Enemy. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.”

In this wonderful book, “the Enemy” described is actually God, and the evildoer, Screwtape, is conditioning the mind of his nephew, Wormwood, on the ways in which humans are best led astray from following God’s will.

I believe that many times as followers of Jesus, we walk out our faith aimlessly. We allow the lies and deceit from the enemy to creep in and manifest within our hearts and minds. God could never love me. I need to work myself out of this pothole before I approach God. My sin has already been committed, there’s no point in turning to God for restoration.

This is where our sin takes a foothold. When we compromise our faith in order to believe a lie that tells us that overcoming our sin doesn’t matter.

Little do you know, beloved, that your God created you to experience the exact opposite. Romans 5:8 tells us “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Your debt has been paid, beloved. Jesus loved you before you committed your sin, during your sin, and after your sin. Your life is not a testament to your own pursuit of perfection, but rather a testament to the grace that was shown to you by your creator and savior, who chose you in your own brokenness.

Who are we to take away the free gift in which God has already given to us? The thief, who was crucified next to Jesus on Calvary Hill, lived his entire life in darkness with no regard for believing in God. However, nearing his final breath, he sees the Son of God giving his life innocently for sinners just like him.

It is here, where the thief says “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42-43).

Do you believe this decision had an impact on this man’s eternity? I certainly do. So why is it that we limit ourselves from the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ? Just like you and I, this man deserved death, but Jesus gave him eternity.

What sins are gripping you beloved? What’s keeping you from receiving the love that Jesus is wanting to give you abundantly? It’s never too late to find victory and squash the sin that’s held you down for years. It may not seem to matter in regards to your life on Earth, but you will be rewarded handsomely for doing so in Heaven for all eternity.