I didn't do what I was supposed to do, so now what do I do? Here is some advice for when you've messed up or dropped the ball. This devotional will remind you that you are still loved & arm you with verses for guilt and condemnation.

Man. Who isn’t all too familiar with this feeling? “I didn’t do what I know I was supposed to do and now I don’t know what to do.” That is the worst. For me, this plays out in social situations. I know I should go say hello to someone or that I should strike up a conversation with this person or that person and I spam out and let anxiety and fear keep me from doing it and then I guilt and shame myself for not doing it so next time an opportunity pops up I am buried beneath my own idea of how much I suck so I fail again.

Goodness, there are so many ways this scenario could work itself out. Maybe you were supposed to do something that you didn’t want to do so you just didn’t. Maybe you felt lead to accept a job or make a big move or share the gospel with someone and you ignored it.

Today I want to focus on what you do after you failed to do what you should have done.

God’s Not Mad

First things first, God is not mad at you. Shocking I am sure. Your view and opinion of God may not line up with this statement. You may need to adjust how you see and interact with God. He is not mad at you. He is not shocked by your behavior. He is not scared by how unpredictable you are capable of being. This does not shock Him. You’ll never hear Him say, “Goodness, what’s gotten into you!” or “I wash my hand of you. You had your chance and you blew it.”

Romans 11:29 says,

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

He is not going to give up on you. He’ll never walk away. His love for you is not based on you or your performance. You mess up and He just keeps loving. Do not let you mistakes keep you from running to your loving Father for help.

Hebrews 4:15-16 says,

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

He knows what we are going through and He is aware of all that we are facing and He is willing to help. He gives us permission to come running with boldness when we are in need of mercy and grace to help.

Romans 5:6-9 says,

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

While we were at our worst Jesus chose to die for us. He took all of the wraths of God upon Himself at the cross. There is no anger left. He’s not mad at you. He loves you.

Condemnation vs Guilt

Now let us talk about your guilt. Your guilt is deserved. It is your conscious’s way of letting you know you did something wrong. Feeling guilt should lead you closer to God. It’s meant to lead to repentance.

Condemnation, on the other hand, is not from God and you cannot allow it to stay in your heart & mind. Condemnation is just what it sounds like. It means to condemn something. To declare something as unfit for use.

Condemnation attacks your identity. It tells you that you are a failure and should just give up. It tells you that you are a bad spouse and always will be, so just walk away. It tells you that you’ve messed up one too many times and no God could love you. It tells you that you have nothing to offer the world. Condemnation is a lie from the pits of hell.

Romans 8:1 says,

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Okay, you messed up. If your thoughts or even the advice and counsel you are being given are attacking your character or your identity, that is condemnation. Condemnation leaves you hopeless guilt does not.

It is okay to feel guilty. To be aware of the fact that you dropped the ball. Guilt motivates us to step back and figure out what parts of us still need to be surrendered to God. It helps us identify more lies that we have accepted ad believed about who we are and who God is. Guilt tells us we are capable of more and that we are better than our recent actions.

Open Doors

That’s the problem with being disobedient. It’s not that we’ve made ourselves less lovable to God. That’s hogwash. We’ve already established you are loved forever regardless of your performance. Disobedience opens doors and makes us vulnerable to the attacks, schemes, and lies of the enemy. When we know we’ve done something wrong or not done something we know we should have done, we are easy prey for the enemy who comes in and whispers lies in our ears burying us beneath mountains of condemnation.

Don’t let this happen. When you mess up or fall short run to God. Receive His love. Listen for His guidance. Rest in the Truth of who He says you are. Trust that you are not a lost cause or a waste of time. Let the love that God is still pouring into you motivate you to examine your heart. This closes those door that the enemy would other wise sneak in through.

What caused you to behave the way you did? Let God touch those places. Repent. Let God show you the areas of you life that you need to start seeing differently. Renew you mind. Let the word of God help you see things differently. Ask for forgiveness if you’ve wrong someone. Trust that God is really big. You not doing what you should have done has not thrown off His plan.

He’s still in control. He’s got this. He’s Got you. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jude 1:24-25 which says,

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

He is able to keep us from falling! We may mess up and trip every now and then but that is expected. Think of a toddler learning to walk with his tiny hands wrapped around his daddy’s pointer fingers. He may weeble and wobble but his daddy has got him.

Your Father is not going to let you fall. You may get banged up and a few scrapped knees in this life as we learn to walk but He able to keep you. He’s not giving up on you, so don’t you go hiding from Him just because you made a mistake.

You are loved, friend. I hope this helps you. I hope this reminds you how great God is and how incredibly love you are by Him. I hope you share this so that we can remind more of God’s children how incredibly loved they are.

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Thank you guys for reading. Rest in the love of God today and look for opportunities to share that love with others.

Bless y’all,