I made a really bad joke once.

I was with a group of friends, and I was trying to make a different joke. But what came out ended up being really bad. I accidentally implied one of my friends was fat. Everyone around me looked shocked, for good reason. I really didn’t mean to call that friend fat, and they aren’t fat, which is why it wasn’t even on my mind that my joke could be taken that way. It was a complete and total accident.

But what was said was said.

I’d called my friend fat in a large group of friends and had to live with the consequences.

I went to bed that night feeling horrible and tried my best to forget about it.

Time went on. All my friends forgave me and forgot about it. But no matter what I did, the memory still made me feel horribly guilty. A deep, cold ball of shame lodged in my chest, refusing to move.

The thoughts started creeping in…

How can they still call me their friend after a joke like that? I must look like a total jerk. I am a total jerk. One more wrong move like that, and you’ll need to move across the country again—get a whole new friend group! What must they think of you? What must they feel about you?

“This was nearly an irredeemable mistake,” a voice slips into the thoughts. “You?”

Wait…was that my thought, God, or…something else?

It can be hard to distinguish your thoughts. Sometimes, it’s so loud in my brain that I actually have no idea what’s going on. But that’s how the enemy can get in there. It can start with your thoughts. You feel bad about something, so you meditate on it, you sit awake at night thinking about it. Then, the enemy slips in a thought or two of his own. This is how you can come into agreement with lies, how he can convince you things about yourself that just aren’t true.

Choose which voice to agree with.

You gotta make a choice. Are you going to agree with what God says or what the enemy says? It’s easier to agree with the enemy sometimes. It takes work to agree with God. After all, you have to go to him with that memory and actually ask him what he thinks about it.

Listen, I let that memory torment me for months. I hate to admit it, but it was only a week ago that I finally brought the guilt and shame I felt over that to Jesus. I do my best talking with God as I drift off to sleep at night. This is an especially good time to invite Jesus into my room too. Otherwise, I might just keep myself up scrolling Instagram reels or thinking horrible, untrue thoughts about myself.

I lay there and tentatively asked him if I was really all that horrible for that joke I made.

“They forgave you, and so have I. Why can’t you?” He asked. I sighed and shut my eyes.

“I don’t know…thank you, Jesus, for giving me good friends. I’m so glad they love me, despite my flaws.”

“They don’t love you despite your flaws. They love you for you. They’re not sitting awake at night like you are, thinking over that memory and considering if they should still be your friend. And neither am I. I love you, even when you mess up, not in spite of when you mess up.”

It’s a subtle heart change.

Do you love people despite their flaws, or do you just love people?

God doesn’t love you in spite of your flaws. He isn’t sitting up in heaven thinking, “Oh, gee, I’ll love them, but I have to consider it for a second because they aren’t always obedient/faithful/fill in your weakness here.”

God just loves you. Simple and plain as that. It’s not some great debate he had with himself. He loves you, and he likes you too.

So, which voice are you going to agree with today?

It’s hard to remember God’s words sometimes. That’s why I created these free phone backgrounds for you! Each one has a reminder that God doesn’t just love you. He likes you too.

.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_content { background-color: #ededed !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container .et_bloom_form_header { background-color: #84644a !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #84644a !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_fields i { color: #84644a !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_custom_field_radio i:before { background: #84644a !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #84644a !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container h2, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container h2 span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container h2 strong { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; }.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container p, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container p span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container p strong, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container form input, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_17 .et_bloom_form_container form button span { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; } Don't fight the enemy alone!

Need that daily reminder that God not only loves you but likes you, too? I've got some free phone backgrounds for you to use! 

Get your phone backgrounds! Your phone backgrounds are on their way!

The post Newsflash: You’re an Irredeemable Monster! appeared first on Alli Prince.