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So here's today's question, Paul. How do you deal with the internal, in quotes, voices that

remind you of how bad you are and how good you're not?

Is that the devil?

Or is that a good, humble posture to have?

I never want to be self-righteous or arrogant, but I feel like I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum now with self-loathing and self-hatred.

I want to make a distinction.

Conviction of the Holy Spirit is movement.

The Holy Spirit makes us see our sin and abandon our righteousness not to get us stuck there.

That's not the work of the Holy Spirit. That's not how the Holy Spirit works.

But to move us toward confession and the relief of forgiveness and the joy of fresh starts and new beginnings.

That's how the Holy Spirit works.

So if I'm stuck in a self-loathing season, that's not the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

That's the enemy taking the knowledge of sin and using it to destroy me.

It's just very clear in scripture that those two are just very different things.

The condemning stuckness is such a clear indication that this is not the way God works.

God doesn't leave us condemned.

He uses conviction to restore us and to give us a freedom of fresh beginnings.

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