Our Hope Endures

I feel so blessed and so unworthy of it. I have done so many things to screw up my life and to screw up other peoples lives but God is so full of grace and compassion and mercy and love and He uses all those things to hold me and tell me that it's okay and He helps me be a better me. He encourages me and helps me up when I fall. He pulls me through when I'm struggling and when I totally mess things up, He forgives me when I confess my crap and ask for the forgiveness.
I believe that before you can receive complete forgiveness you must first realize the things you have done to hurt the Lord and confess them to yourself and to Him. That has been my personal journey lately. I feel like there's such a long list of this and, yes, it's a long process and it hurts inside. Sometimes the only way to heal is to dig out your deepest regrets and lay them out before yourself and openly confess them to God and apologize.
I can relate well to the Psalms I've been reading lately. I don't want to take up a lot of space with scripture but it's so relevant to my life and I feel it's necessary to put it here because it says things so much better than I can.

Psalm 38
 ¹ O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
      or discipline me in your rage!
 ² Your arrows have struck deep,
      and your blows are crushing me.
 ³ Because of your anger, my whole body is sick;
      my health is broken because of my sins.
 ⁴ My guilt overwhelms me—
      it is a burden too heavy to bear.
 ⁵ My wounds fester and stink
      because of my foolish sins.
 ⁶ I am bent over and racked with pain.
      All day long I walk around filled with grief.
 ⁷ A raging fever burns within me,
      and my health is broken.
 ⁸ I am exhausted and completely crushed.
      My groans come from an anguished heart.

 ⁹ You know what I long for, Lord;
      you hear my every sigh.
 ¹⁰ My heart beats wildly, my strength fails,
      and I am going blind.
 ¹¹ My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease.
      Even my own family stands at a distance.
 ¹² Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me.
      Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me.
      All day long they plan their treachery.

 ¹³ But I am deaf to all their threats.
      I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
 ¹⁴ I choose to hear nothing,
      and I make no reply.
 ¹⁵ For I am waiting for you, O Lord.
      You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
 ¹⁶ I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me
      or rejoice at my downfall.”

 ¹⁷ I am on the verge of collapse,
      facing constant pain.
 ¹⁸ But I confess my sins;
      I am deeply sorry for what I have done.
 ¹⁹ I have many aggressive enemies;
      they hate me without reason.
 ²⁰ They repay me evil for good
      and oppose me for pursuing good.
 ²¹ Do not abandon me, O Lord.
      Do not stand at a distance, my God.
 ²² Come quickly to help me,
      O Lord my savior.

I know that I have brought my injury upon myself. I will live with chronic pain because it's my punishment for willingly sinning without listening to what was right. Deep down I feel that is the truth. I have felt His wrath and I have taken His blows. All of those things have been because He loves me and a Father loves the child that He disciplines. Then He pours out blessings and contentment once we surrender to what's right. I'm trying. I'm finally trying with all my heart and with all I am. Is it easy? Heck no! I will try more though. I want His best and I want Him to have my best. 

Psalm 37:3-6, 27-29, and 39-40

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
      Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
 ⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
      and he will give you your heart’s desires.
 ⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.
      Trust him, and he will help you.
 ⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
      and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.


 ²⁷ Turn from evil and do good,
      and you will live in the land forever.
 ²⁸ For the Lord loves justice,
      and he will never abandon the godly.
   He will keep them safe forever,
      but the children of the wicked will die.
 ²⁹ The godly will possess the land
      and will live there forever.

 ³⁹ The Lord rescues the godly;
      he is their fortress in times of trouble.
 ⁴⁰ The Lord helps them,
      rescuing them from the wicked.
   He saves them,
      and they find shelter in him.

This is where my hope lies