Conviction of sin can lead to destructive attitudes as well as constructive sorrow. Seeing our sin may lead us to self-condemnation or rejection, or to imagining that God condemns or rejects us. We may begin to hate ourselves or think we are hopeless. These are all strategies of Satan. He knows that if we reject ourselves (for any reason, not just sin) that it will create a wall between us and God. Self-rejection may be Satan’s number one strategy in every person’s life. It cuts us off from the grace and power we need for healing.
Instead we should treat ourselves the way God does: with grace and forgiveness. We do not have permission from God to contradict what God thinks about us. We are His saints and His children. His Son died in our place so that nothing could ever separate us from His love and acceptance. If He does not reject us, then we cannot reject us. Whenever we think of ourselves contrary to how God thinks of us, we need to confess that as sin, turn from it, and accept His truth about who we are.
Another danger to avoid after conviction of sin is depression. Several years ago the Lord convicted me of five areas of sin and I went into depression. I was very discouraged that I had so much deep sin in my life. I didn’t consciously wallow in sadness and discouragement, but the depression came anyway. I realized I wasn’t as good as I thought I was. I became too focused on my badness. The depression became a dark and destructive force, separating me from my intimacy with Christ. I should have found a spiritual counselor who could have helped me through that difficult time. A good counselor can help us navigate these kinds of pitfalls.
Eventually, we will not be very surprised or devastated by deep sins. We will just accept the fact that without God we continually give in to our sinful nature. One of the reasons our sins so upset us is that our foolish pride makes us think that we do not have any more deep sin. Then we are shocked when we find it. Then we become focused on ourselves and our sin and we strive to expel it. But this is all a form of self-centeredness and a trap. It is better to learn to focus on His goodness and less on our corruption. Our sins are not nearly as important as His forgiveness. We might as well just admit our sins and let Him do His work in us. He is not interested in condemning us. He wants to transform us and it’s easier if we don’t overreact while He operates on us. Better to go with His flow than get all worked up over ourselves.
