When I make a big mistake, how do I move on?
Genesis 4:6-7“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
2 Samuel 12:13Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.”
Jeremiah 3:13“Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
1 John 1:10If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
To move on from our mistakes and sins, we should first admit them. This will open us to forgiveness and the restoration of our relationships.
Proverbs 28:13People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
Philippians 3:12-14I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
1 John 1:9If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
To move on from our mistakes and sins, we should receive God’s forgiveness. He wants to give it as much as we need to receive it.
2 Corinthians 2:7-8Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.
James 5:16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
To move on from our mistakes and sins, we should we should ask others for forgiveness when necessary and receive their forgiveness when it’s extended.
Proverbs 24:15-16Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly, and don’t raid the house where the godly live. The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
Jeremiah 8:4-6“Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around. I listen to their conversations and don’t hear a word of truth. Is anyone sorry for doing wrong? Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!’”
Ephesians 4:15-16Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Hebrews 12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
We shouldn’t live in fear of making mistakes. The only way to avoid all mistakes is to never try, which may be the greatest mistake of all. Mistakes will come, and when they do, we should focus forward! Once forgiven, we shouldn’t linger on our mistakes. The door of our eternal future is too small for the baggage of our past to fit through.
Zechariah 1:4Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’
1 Corinthians 10:1, 11I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. . . . These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.
If we don’t learn from our past mistakes, we will be lulled into a sense of false security. Learning from our past mistakes prepares us to not repeat them in the future.
