You’ve forgiven other people. Have you forgiven yourself?

 Sometimes the person we need to show mercy to the most is the person we use to be. We do really well at showing mercy to others, but we are harsh, critical, and judgmental toward the person staring back at us in the mirror.

We replay the conversation we wish we could take back. We remember the decision we wish we had made differently. We think about the opportunity we missed, the relationship we damaged, or the mistake we made years ago, so we continue punishing ourselves for something we can’t change. The person we have the hardest time forgiving is the person we used to be.

The Bible encourages us to treat ourselves differently. Scripture reminds us that mercy isn’t something God wants us to give only to others. We are also recipients of his mercy.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

Notice every morning brings fresh mercy, so yesterday’s failure doesn’t have to define today.

• You can learn from your past without living in it.
• You can acknowledge your mistakes without continually condemning yourself for them.
• You can wish you had done things differently and still recognize that God isn’t finished with you.

Perhaps today you need to extend a little mercy to someone you haven’t thought about in a while. Perhaps you need to show yourself a little mercy today.

The person you were yesterday made mistakes. So did the person you were five years ago, but God’s mercy is greater than your worst moment.

If God is willing to meet you with fresh mercy this morning, perhaps it’s time for you to stop withholding mercy from yourself.

Thanks for reading.