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Sometimes I wonder how I can go from being in such a good place with God … feeling peaceful, loving and patient.. but then something happens that sends me into an orbit of aggravation!!
It happened just the other day…
Things were going well. I’d had a lovely afternoon working from home. Alone. Life was peachy.
But then school got out and kids came home. Within 15 minutes of arrival, one of my boys did something and said something that wasn’t so peachy. Then he did NOT do something I’d asked him to do and let’s just say… I lost all my peace and patience right there in the middle of my kitchen.
I was not happy.at.all. And I let my precious boy know it in a not-so-nice kind of way.
Then I felt GUILTY and like the WORST MOM on the planet.
For a few minutes I was pretty sure that’s exactly how God wanted me to feel ~ so I wouldn’t act so ugly the next time.
But finally, after I’d almost convinced myself that I was the worst mom and had no business in ministry, I remembered something a pastor said about the difference between conviction and condemnation. He explained it like this:
Condemnation sweeps across our thoughts with generalized statements such as, You’re such a failure, You’re so hypocritical, or You can never be counted on. That is the accuser. His tone is condemning, questioning, and confusing. His accusations lead to guilt and shame.
But the Holy Spirit’s conviction will be specific. He will reveal a sinful action or attitude and instruct us on what we need to do to right the wrong: whether it’s restoring a broken relationship or returning something that isn’t ours. He’ll give us steps we need to take to change our behavior or attitude.
• Instead of You’re such a failure as a [wife, mom, daughter, friend], the Spirit might say, You were really critical the way you talked to _________ (your husband, child, parent, etc). You need to say you are sorry and ask for forgiveness. Then tell them something that will build them up instead of tearing them down.
• Instead of You’re so hypocritical, the Spirit might say, You judge others for gossiping, but you are doing the same thing when you talk about your neighbor at work. Tomorrow at lunch break, apologize for what you said and share a few things that are positive about her.
• Instead of You can never be counted on, the Spirit might say, You didn’t keep your promise to go see your mom today. Call her to apologize and maybe set up a lunch date for this weekend.
Satan condemns accusingly, to make us feel guilty. God convicts lovingly, to lead our hearts to repentance. {tweet this?}
Jesus’ convictios draws us away from destructive behavior that hinders our relationship with Him and with others. His goal is to bring us out of the darkness of sin and back into the Light, so we can walk with Him in the freedom of forgiveness and the confidence of His love.
The next time we blow it or lose it, let’s ask Jesus to replace our guilt-induced doubt with HIS grace-infused confidence, as we hold onto the promise that His grace is sufficient because His power is made perfect in our weakness.
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I’m actually still struggling between knowing the difference between God’s voice and my own guilt voice…I grew up in a Catholic home and since I was very young I always heard “be good or God will punish you” I didn’t grow up with an image of a loving Father desiring a relationship with me. When I realized who God really is I felt cheated and manipulated bc I spent so many years doing what’s right out of fear or doing wrong feeling miserable afterwards and never really knowing what grace was…I was never good enough, just ok thinking Illescas be lucky to go to heaven…sadly, many ppl still live this way and it is heartbreaking. ..I struggle still like I said but I’m getting better at forgiving myself and running to God instead of hiding in shame when I do wrong.
This post was very enlightening to me. I guess I never really realized or understood the difference between condemnation and conviction. I have been letting condemnation drag me down and my guilt destroy me. I will be praying for the discernment to listen for God’s voice and his directions on how to turn the situation around and live with confidence!
I love the scripture with this , His grace is always sufficient!! He is a loving and sovereign God. The second part is so powerful, in our weakness he is made perfect!! There are days that I repeat this over and over as a reminder that I don’t have to be perfect ; I am loved and accepted as is and further than that God redeems my imperfections for his glory!!
thank you… i needed this message today.
I love you devotion on Proverbs 31 today. Regardless of how many times we mess up, God’s mercy remains and His grace is greater still. He always turns our mess into something beautiful.
This resonated with me so much today and I am so grateful. After a failed marriage, dealing with ailing parents and three children I feel like I’m doing it all wrong. I think God must be disappointed in me. This reminded me today that I am worthy of his grace, AND I need to pay that grace forward with my friends, family and college students I teach.
I appreciate your uplifting words that spoke directly to ME today!
I sure appreciated the definitions for condemnation vs conviction this morning. I definitely see myself on the condemnation side of things! Thanks Renee.
So many of your daily devotions touch my heart. It always amazes me how God uses others to say exactly what I need to hear at that exact moment. Knowing that others have experienced the same things I have is such a blessing as I realize it really is alright and that God REALLY does have it all under control and that I am never alone as he is with me always just as he is with others. Thank you so much for your honesty and wisdom.
I was so encouraged by your message and would love to read the rest of the story in your devotional.
I am a 67 year young woman who has two grown sons who are men of God.
For the past two years I have retired and live with my youngest son, his wife, and two teen aged grandsons.
Grace and gratitude are necessary to be living this life, thank you for reminding me of this.
I loved your P31 message today as well as this one. I really needed a “reminder” of this today. I’m so hard on myself. I need to remind myself often to fail forward, give myself a break, and go forward in grace! I read Confident Heart. It was amazingly helpful to me. I’m sure the devotional will be just as good!
I needed to hear that God’s grace is sufficient for me today. Thank you for speaking words of truth today.
I loved this devotion & I have enjoyed your books so much. I would love to have this devotional. Your words hit my heart always! God is great..!!
Thank you so much for your honesty. I try to teach my child about grace but rarely if ever give it to myself. The reminders of the difference between condemnation and conviction were l timed. God is using you to touch so many people as evidenced by all of the comments.Continue to walk in God’s grace.
I am so glad to have stopped by your site this morning. I was in a rush trying to get my devotional done so I could hurry and get the kids out the door on time. Of course, with love and care. I wanted to share that The Lord is so amazing and I am thankful to grow in these areas. I struggle with condemnation and hypocracy and guilt. I needed to read this at this very moment to actually grasp what I needed to to move forward in my walk with Christ. To be able to set these down at the feet of The Lord through His grace… just, is a beautiful gift. Thank you.
I sometimes lose my patience and not respond to things in a peaceful way, even when I intend to. Thank you for reaffirming that the enemy will condemn me, but the Spirit will lovingly convict me to change my behavior, attitude, etc. What a blessing!
God bless!
So needed this today!!!
I feel very alone right now. I am a mother, wife, and I work a full time job. My husband lost his job almost a year ago. unemployment was cut in dec 2013. we are struggling financially and I am very stressed. I try to think for better or for worse, I try to think, God has a plan. I just got licensed as a professional counselor and am trying to get things going in my career. But I am so stressed and overwhelmed and think how can I help others when I myself am so stressed, hurt, broken, overwhelmed and just fed up!!! My mind is filled with worry on a daily basis. And I know that God does not want that but I cant help it. this was an inspiration to read but I still cant get rid of the doubt, fear, worry, not when mortgage, car note and other bills are behind. we have four children and I try to set an example for them. But I have but so much to give.
What’ a great reminder today! Would love to win this devotional!
I love the explanation of the two differences. Now I am sure I’ve recently heard from the Holy Spirit.
I needed today’s devotion. I am currently in school following what I believe to be God’s leading, but it seems as if I’m being crushed by this new responsibility along with all of the other factors that are in my life. I am so quick to doubt that what God has shone me can’t be for me. I understood exactly how you felt, because I often wonder if I’m able to be the wife, mother, daughter, christian, professional, ministry leader, etc. that God has called me to be. I’m barely holding on. Thank you for today. I needed to remember that it’s not through my strength and through my perfection but through His. He doesn’t need me to be perfect for Him to be able to use me for His glory. Thanks for the great reminder!