 There are days when my past haunts me… from the moment I wake up, every regret of my past seemingly
pops up and I cannot seem to shake the memories. The insecurities, regrets, and emotions come back, too. Am I the only one? Depending on my mood or even my current circumstances/situations, I react differently. Sometimes, I react with a thought like, “I’m glad that I’m not that person anymore,” and other times I respond with feelings of deep shame and condemnation. Today, as it felt like someone was somehow following me around, reminding me of every terrible things I’ve ever done, I began to panic a little. I thought to myself, “God, how could you ever choose to use me? You know all of these things…” It was there, in that moment, I heard a small voice say, “Stop listening to that. I don’t condemn you. I paid for that.” The Lord is wanting to bring our past regrets to an end. We have been redeemed by Jesus at great cost. Colossians 1:13-14 says, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” We don’t have to be the sum of our past mistakes and choices. Jesus paid for us to be free, rescuing us from the darkness we lived in, and He brought us into the light, the Kingdom of the Son. He redeemed us, He forgave us. Our past should not have a say in what or who we are now. The only past that should have any say is His past. He died for us to be free. But sometimes we have these moments in our past that were so powerfully impactful against us that they prevent us from experiencing the Grace and Love of God, what He has personally done for us, and it feels like if we would acknowledge God, we would have to somehow pretend our past didn’t happen. I know your past happened because I know all too well that my past happened. It sometimes feels like if people knew my past, I would be devoured and destroyed for it. Maybe it’s true. I have seen Christians do that to other Christians… But I have never seen God do it. More than that, I believe with all I am that pretending is a terrible thing, and God doesn’t want us to pretend that everything is great, that our past wasn’t full of darkness. On the contrary, I believe God wants the darkest parts of our past to linger a little in order for us to realize how amazing His love truly is. After all, I’ve never seen a diamond put on display with a white background. It’s only when we hold that diamond on a black, velvet background and shine the purest light on it from above that we can see the flawless beauty. We don’t pretend everything is perfect. That’s what the world thinks we do. No. We are all way too well aware of our pasts, aren’t we? Instead of pretending, God wants us to realize that He loves us more than the sum of our past, to the point where we realize in the midst of those darkest moments God was right there with us. He never hid His face in shame. There is no shame (guilt or condemnation) in the Kingdom of God, anyway (Romans 8:1). Your darkest days are legitimate. But if we would allow the Love of God to come into our hearts, His love wouldn’t cover up the wounds. No, He would HEAL our wounds. He would Heal your scars. He doesn’t erase them, He heals them. We always remember, but more than that, we remember His love supersedes our sins and past mistakes. The tragedies of our past become these beautiful moments where we experience God’s love and grace, and it’s where we get strengthened to help others who haven’t quite learned His love or experienced the depth of His love and Grace. Those dark moments become places of strength. Yes, there are moments or days where the haunting realities seem to attack us (I already said God doesn’t erase them), but then we remember how wonderful God is. The past doesn’t go away. But it does lose its impact over your present and future, so that you walk freely towards the person He made you to be. Isn’t it amazing to know this side of God? So the next time you are reminded of your past, and shame, guilt, or condemnation settle in, don’t beat yourself up over it. Instead, realize what God has done with you since then. See the difference in who you’ve become. Look how far you’ve come with Him. Don’t let your past define you. After all… Jesus paid for your past so you could be His future. Bless you…
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 Psalm 105:4 say, “look to the Lord and His strength; seek his face always.
Something simple is this, No situation changes His presence, His presence it was changes the situation. You, yourself have a direct link to God the Almighty through the Holy spirt because of what Jesus did for us (you) on the cross. This is so profound. You can be in His presence all the time, building your life around him, your work, family, relationships everything! It really is that simple. My prayer for you (who is reading this) is that you would look to the Lord in every situation you may face, that you would carry His presence always and never grow weary for it’s His strength. You will seek His face always and see it among all of creation. You would hear His heart in a song, see His beauty on a run, hear His voice in the wind and feel His nearness. Lastly that you allow Him to fully embrace you –In Jesus name Amen |
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July 2023
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