I was reading in my book tonight how often our past creeps back into our daily lives, and how sometimes, the past over-shadows or taints how we view today. The things we faced as children greatly affect how we view things today, and our perspective. I had many things that shaped me, good and bad into who I am today, there are things I am leaving behind, but the only way I am going to be able to truly do this is though the healing power of Christ's redemption.
Choices I made in my past, depending on the outcome of those circumstances I put myself in, either leave me feeling like I made the wrong choice and desperately wish to just forget, or the flip side, thankfulness that I made the righteous choice.
What am I getting at here?
Who we used to be, is a shadow to who we are today. But my friends, hear this, it does not have to be this way. We do not have to live with the shadow of fear, resentment, anger, grief, discontent, shame and bitterness. Those are not qualities we like on others, and they are not things we want mirrored to our children.
Not to long ago, I lived in a world that revolved around me, it pretty much had my entire life, and to tell you the truth, without being able to see the truth of desolation that I was really in, I rather enjoyed being the center of my own world. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, and with whom I wanted, thinking only briefly of the desires, concerns and cares of others. I know, I sound pretty great! :)
I did think about other people at times, because that is something God laid upon my heart from time to time, and I did desire His plans now and then, so that did come through, but generally speaking, me life was about...me.
Now, through a string of events, God brought me to my knees, showed me the desert of a place that I was in and replaced my dry streams with running water, lifted me up and revealed to me how to heal, how to repent and how to give it up, calling the former me, just that, former.
The present holds all kinds of lovely things. It's amazing. I see light where I used to see dark, and beauty where ashes used to smolder.
"If anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Cor. 5:17
So I ask you friends, if you made a list, what would be on your "need to forget" list about your past? It does not have to haunt you. God calls us to bring those old bags to Him, He will tell us how to dispose of them, and then give us new robes to put on, rather than wearing the old garments of our past.
I am not claiming I have no past regrets that don't sometimes still find their way into my memory, and it was one of those thoughts that partly prompted this blog entry.
But this is what I know, those things are now faint memories and when Satan wants to drag them back from the dead, I now know where to turn and how to fight the old feelings.
"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43: 18,19
Do you need a road in your wilderness? Consider being lost in the wild and you come upon a highway, wouldn't you feel relief? I know I would, and this is what My Lord does for me whenever I choose to run to Him and ask Him for the healing I know only He can offer.
Whatever cloud hangs over your head today, know that it can and will be release to Him if only you utter the words. This is not fairy tail of magic dust the removes all bad things from your life, this is life-long, ability to give your past to someone bigger than you story.
"God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and the shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Revelations 21:4
Doesn't that sound amazing? And every day, I can live this way.
This past of yours, has only the hold on you that which you allow it to have.
No comments:
Post a Comment