Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Bible in a Year: Job 13-14 | Matthew 9
When familiar sins resurface, I tend to say, “I did it again,” or “I let them down.” Some of these old habits are acts of selfishness, attempts to hide from mistakes, or the refusal to forgive myself.
Even if I’ve worked to forgive myself over and over, new variants of it pop up every few months, and that’s when I start saying, “Here we go again,” or “If only I had done more when I had the chance.”
It often feels like a yin-and-yang approach, where good and evil are balanced, one justifying the other. This cycle makes avoidance tempting and welcomes other sins if I choose the misery of shame rather than believing in God’s authority.(Romans 6:14)
Do you struggle with this, too?
Finding this balance can make you feel like a sinful puppet master pulling the strings. It causes your mind to play tricks on you, making you believe you aren’t good enough because you keep breaking promises to God. Unfortunately, Satan keeps tapping on your shoulder during these struggles, and hiding serves his purpose to steal and destroy. (John 10:10) You don’t want others to see the fake Christian within you. You may feel that shame right now, but you don’t have to live in it.
Romans 8:6
So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
Paul didn’t write these words just for Ancient Rome, they’re also for you, right now, in the middle of your mess. This battle between your old nature and God’s Spirit is real, but you don’t have to stay stuck in shame.
Stop letting sin pull you back and forth between good and evil. God doesn’t balance that scale. He tips it in his ultimate good favor. Start asking the Spirit to control your mind, and accept the invitation into the life of peace he offers.
Are you ready to be done beating yourself up?
Let this truth wash over you: God forgave you long before your latest stumble because he knew it would happen. (Isaiah 46:10) The struggle to maintain balance is always real, but you were made perfectly to be yourself. Take the step to admit that life is hard, take steps to know God more, and show others how to rise again.
Questions:
What habits make it easier for you to repeat the same sins?
What lies do you sometimes believe about yourself?
Next Steps:
Identify the lies in your life by asking if your thoughts and narratives carry labels such as bitterness, shame, insecurity, or pride.
Read Acts 8 and 9, where God turned the shame of Paul’s sin into a story of redemption.
Spend time reading the redemption stories of Peter and David. If you’re not sure where to start, you can read John 18, John 21, and Psalm 51.
Prayer:
God, please rescue me from my desires and humble my pride. Erase shame from my stumbles. Build me up each time I fall, and create distance between me and the lies of my failures. Help me find freedom in your promises. Amen.
Series Theme Verse:
Ephesians 1:5
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
This post was written by Jaron Camp, a Findlay attendee and regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.