Do you ever find yourself replaying past mistakes in your mind, wishing you had handled things differently? Here’s how you can count on God.

I should have been kinder with my words…
I keep falling short as a spouse, parent, or friend…
Why am I still struggling with the same issues?

It’s easy to think that if we just try harder, we’ll eventually overcome these struggles—that with enough effort, we’ll become more patient, more kind, or more loving.

What if real, lasting change doesn’t come with trying harder… but with remembering one very powerful truth? 

Look at what 2 Peter 1:5–9 tells us:

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love…. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”

Did you catch that? When we forget we’ve been cleansed of our past sins, we become shortsighted. Thats is we are fixated on our own efforts and constantly aware of our weaknesses and shortcomings—and will lack all the good traits we want.

But when we remember this truth—that our Lord Jesus bore our sins at the cross and rose again victorious, a declaration that we are completely forgiven in Him (Rom. 4:25)—we will begin to walk in the very qualities we long to see in our lives! 

In other words, true and lasting transformation doesn’t come from striving, it comes from counting on our forgiveness in Christ.

What should you do to count on God?

So friend, the next time you find yourself dwelling on a mistake and trying to fix things on your own, take a moment to pause and remember: you have been completely forgiven! 

 When you do so, you’ll no longer rely on your own efforts to overcome your sins or mistakes. But on God’s grace to transform your thoughts, words, and actions from the inside out.

The more you rest in this truth, the more you’ll experience His love, knowing how completely He has forgiven you. And as His love fills your heart, you’ll find yourself extending grace, forgiving freely, and loving others—because He first loved you. 

To uncover more about this powerful truth, tune in to Pastor Prince’s latest sermon, Count On Your Forgiveness. Where he shares more about the importance of understanding our complete forgiveness in Christ! The full Gospel Partner episode will be released for free on March 6, 2025. In the meantime, you can simply sign up for a Gospel Partner subscription. You can purchase the sermon there.

For similar encouragements like this, check out old articles here.