Jesus, ‘the Great Physician,’ never covers up an infected sore. He insists it’s lanced, drained, cleansed, and given time to heal. If you’ve done things you regret, don’t be discouraged. Jesus isn’t impressed by our virtues, He’s touched with ‘the feeling of our infirmities’ (Hebrews 4:15 KJV). He understands your struggle. ‘He himself has…been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like…and…is wonderfully able to help us’ (Hebrews 2:18 TLB). God will still use you and bless you, whatever’s gone on in your past. The hymn by William Cowper puts it like this: ‘There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.’ Hebrews 10:22 reminds us: ‘let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water’ (NIV). Whether it’s guilt over something you’ve done, or the pain of something that was done to you – draw near to God and let it go. Step into the river of God’s grace and let it flow over you, setting you free.

What Now?
Offer to do the washing-up. As you clean each dish, think of an area of your life that needs cleaning up, and invite God to heal you. As you tip the dirty water away, imagine your pain and guilt draining away too.