“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” Rom. 8:1
Once we embrace the strength of ongoing brokenness before His face, we will soon discover the vast freedom and easy breathing that comes from having no condemnation. We will have no condemnation because once we begin truly relying on Christ in us to be our source for everything—righteousness, holy living, joy, wisdom, peace, our all in all—we take away the fuel for condemnation, which is the dung pile of our flesh.
We need to see and believe that God does not despise our weaknesses. He wants us to quit despising ourselves for having weaknesses. Despising ourselves does not lead to healthy change (repentance); only His kindness mixed with godly sorrow leads to repentance. However, condemnation prevents these ingredients from activating and doing their work. Many times we allow our weaknesses to expel us from His perfect presence, but He wants to embrace us and be enveloped in His Fatherly mercy and kindness especially during times of weakness. He wants us to hear Him longingly saying with His perfect Fatherly heart, "Let My strength complete you in your weakness." A crucial part of living coram Deo at all costs is learning to trust Him not to abandon us or despise us in our weakness.
Jesus is our 7 x 70 Forgiver of sins. After all, He would not ask us to forgive someone of the same offense 7 X 70 times without also extending that measure of grace to us. (Mt. 7:2; 18:22) Jesus told Peter, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.” When Peter stubbornly resisted, Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” (Jn. 13:8-10) We must routinely submit to the necessity of the Lord washing our feet even after we’ve been bathed and born again.
When we are steeped in guilt and condemnation we are actually full of ourselves; it means we are walking according to the strength and inclination of our flesh. We must no longer walk with mere head knowledge of the fact that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Co. 5:17) It is time for this truth to take root in our hearts: when Jesus went to the cross, He took our old man with Him.
Adapted from the Coram Deo Secret
http://www.marisarickerson.com/coram-deo.html
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