1.11.2023 Devotion

The devotion discusses the fear of being judged and how it can lead us to neglect ourselves. It emphasizes that God does not judge those who believe in Jesus and there is no condemnation for those who belong to him. The critical voice we often hear is not God, but ourselves. It suggests asking two questions: how loud is the critical voice in our head and who first told us those things, and how can we argue against it. The prayer asks God to help us not listen to the critical voice and to know that we are loved and accepted by Him. This is the devotion for Wednesday, January 11th, 2023. The title of today's devotion, God is not judging me. The scripture comes from the book of John, chapter 3, verse 18, there is no judgment against anyone who believes in me. Why do we tend to give away too much of ourselves to others and neglect to care for ourselves? Often we are driven by a fear of being judged. We are haunted by a sense that we haven't done enough, or we haven't done what was expected. And at the root of those fears is the sense that no one who is most critical of us is God, the one who is most critical of us is God himself. But that's just not true. John tells us plainly that when we believe in Jesus, God does not judge us. Paul makes this even clearer when he asserts, so now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus, Romans 8.1. No ifs, no ands, no buts, absolutely no condemnation, simply because we belong to Jesus. And that freedom from judgment is not based on how we feel about it, it's reality, based on a transaction we made with God when we affirmed our belief and he adopted us into his family. So that critical voice we so often hear on our heads is not God speaking, it's us. God speaks only in the language of love. Ask yourself this question, number one. How loud is the critical, judgmental voice in your head? Who first told you the things that your critical voice now repeats? Question two. Since the critical voice is not telling the truth, how can you argue against it? Ask God. Loving Heavenly Father, thank you for not judging me. Help me not to listen to that critical voice within me, for I know it is not you. Help me to know that I am loved by you and accepted for who I am.