In 2012, I was selected to represent the Brazilian Olympic team. I went into the Olympics with high hopes. I wanted to compete well for my country and win an Olympic gold medal. We made it to the final match but ultimately lost against Mexico.
I cried a lot after that game. We had been so close, and yet we didn’t win. As athletes, we are always striving for perfection. The same competitiveness that drives us to win can drive us to be hyper-critical of our mistakes. It can be difficult to forgive ourselves when we don’t live up to the standards we set.
Jesus offers us a kind of forgiveness that can transform our hearts. It doesn’t excuse our mistakes or mean that we should lower our standards. It means that all of our mistakes, no matter how big they may seem, have been paid for by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
God does not measure us by what we have done. He’s not counting our mistakes against us. There is no need to punish ourselves for the mistakes that Christ has already paid for. Jesus did not take our sins upon Himself for us to live trapped by the guilt of our past–whether it’s about something on the pitch or off it.
Once I realized that God’s grace was sufficient for me, even after a heartbreaking loss, I was able to look back on my Olympic experience with gratitude. I realized how difficult it is just to make the national team, to qualify for an Olympic Games, and to make it to the gold medal match.
In my walk with the Lord, I have learned that while I don’t deserve any of it, God pours out His blessings upon me every day. So I don’t complain when things don’t go the way I’d hoped they would. I say thank you to God for the breath in my lungs.
Everything that happens in our lives is for our growth–to teach us something. Sometimes, what we need to learn requires a painful lesson. But often in the pain, God is teaching us something about Himself that we could not learn in comfort.
Challenge
In what areas of your life do you have a hard time accepting God’s forgiveness?
Will you choose to believe God when He tells you you are forgiven? Don’t let the lies of the enemy convince you that your mistake was too big to be paid for!
Prayer
Father, thank you for the complete forgiveness You have offered me. Allow the weight of this truth, the truth that You remember my sins no more, to saturate my heart and transform my life. Remove any doubt in my mind that my mistakes have been paid for and quiet any whispers from the enemy that say my sins aren’t covered by the blood of Jesus. Help me to move past any guilt in my heart with freedom and gratitude as I live to honor You. Amen.
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