When our hearts condemn us

“This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.” 1 John 3:19-20
Every Christian goes through periods in their lives where they doubt their salvation. It might be some big messy sin that you’ve become caught up in since becoming a believer, and you feel totally unworthy of God’s love and His gift of salvation. In those times we can think, ‘If I were God, I wouldn’t love me,’ or ‘I don’t know how God could love me again after what I’ve done.’
If that’s you today, then this verse is for you. God’s love for you is not based on anything you are or anything you’ve done. His love for you is based on His character, because He is the definition of love (1 John 4:16). Therefore, anything you do cannot change the fact that God still loves you.
How do we know that God loves us? This is important: it’s not about feeling loved. We can know for sure that God loves us, in spite of ourselves, because His Word tells us that He loves us. “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, btu that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Ask yourself this: when did Jesus die for your sins? It was before you were born! Therefore, He died not just for your past sins, but also for your present and future sins. They are all covered by His blood. None of us are worthy, nor will we ever be worthy of this gift of life provided through the death of God’s own Son. That’s a fact we need to accept, and stop beating ourselves up about – instead, we ought to be thankful, and press on in God.
We can set our hearts at rest by examining the fruit in our lives. Is our love for God increasing? Do we have joy and peace? Are we developing patience, kindness, and self-control?
One final word to close. Our hearts may well condemn us, but God does not condemn us if we are in Christ. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).