How to finally be happy

Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven,whose sin is put out of sight!  Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty.  Psalms 32:1-2 NLT

I know how you feel sometimes.  I do.  I've been there with you.  I understand you.  You're not alone.

Sometimes you've wished you could change something you said or did.  You wish you could go back in time, right to the moment where you knew you could choose or refuse to do something you would later regret.  You wish you weren't like you are, that it came easier to choose right and refuse wrong.

I know how you feel sometimes.  I've been there with you.  I understand you.  You're not alone.  But you and I have the hope of finally being happy.  This is how.

Admit it, or remember that you've already admitted it. 
What are we admitting, and to whom are we admitting it?

We are admitting to God that we have sinned, confessing our sin without any excuses.
That's all we have to do, or all we have to remember doing if we've already done it.

God forgives you when you confess your sins.
Jesus paid the penalty you and I deserve, which is death and hell.
The Spirit sets us free from our past and gives us hope for a beautiful future.

When God forgives, He forgets forever, as if it never happened, as if you are a totally new person, because in fact, you are.  When you believed in Jesus, the old you with all those regrets died with Jesus, and a new you, the new you, the true you, was reborn as a son or daughter of God.

Forget with God what you were and what you've said and done.  The old you died with Jesus 2000 years ago.  You're now free.  Free to love God and be loved by God.  Free to follow His Spirit from now on.

If you don't feel free, say this prayer with me:

God, I've said and done things I can't take back, that I regret.  These are the things I've done:
______________________
Please forgive me for all that I've said and done that displeased you or hurt others.  I trust that Jesus died in my place for all that I've ever done wrong, and I accept that You punished Him instead of me.  I accept Your Spirit inside of me to now lead me.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting my sins.  Let Satan and every demon's accusations be silenced.  Amen.

God loves you, and so do I.