We all have a past. Some of us occasionally think about it, and some cannot escape it. Some are prisoners of our past, but others become students from their experiences. No matter how you perceive it, the fact is your past shapes you.
We can be haunted by our past no matter how hard we try to forget it. We try our best to move beyond it, but it tries to define every area of our lives.
If you have suffered some physical or emotional trauma, maybe in your childhood or possibly more recently, you know that it shapes how you respond to situations. It is crazy how a smell or a particular time of year can take you back to a moment in time.
I know in my life, I fell victim to unfair circumstances that destroyed my ability to trust others. I learned how to put walls up to protect myself from getting hurt by people and developed unhealthy actions to cope. This led to many years of wandering in the wilderness, trying to hide from hurt. But in reality, I was just hurting myself more and becoming more of a prisoner to the past that tried to define me.
The Enemy is good at making us believe that we cannot escape our past and that we will always be defined by it. He likes to isolate us and remind us of all the failures and mistakes we made and how we will never be known as anything else. But that is a lie! When I allowed Jesus to heal my brokenness, he began to speak the truth to me through His word. Scripture became the weapon I needed to fight the demons of my past.
“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
As the scripture states, God’s Word will penetrate the soul and judge the thoughts of our hearts. He created us, and He knows our weaknesses. He understands that we need to hear His truth to change the way we see ourselves. When we realize our brokenness and desperate condition, we can begin to replace those negative things in our lives with the goodness of God and His great mercy.
If you have truly repented and have come to faith in Christ, the Bible says this:
“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from sin and of death.” Romans 8:1-2
“As far as the east is from the west, so has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
These scriptures are reminders that Jesus paid the price of redemption for the sins that were held against us. Your past may try to hold you hostage, but God makes you right with Him based on the sacrifice of Christ Jesus and the forgiveness that He offers.
When we realize that He loves us despite our failures, we can begin to be released from our past.
Romans 5:8 says,
“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!”
Think about that. Jesus died for you, knowing all the things you would do and all the sins you would commit. He didn’t turn His back on you and say, “No, she is just too broken to be redeemed.“ He took on all the weight of your sins so that you could be free. Free from shame and guilt; free from the pain of your past.
I am going to end with this truth in scripture, praying that if you are stuck in a place where you cannot escape from the things that hold you down, this Biblical reminder delivers this truth:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Amanda Patterson
Lean into Jesus Ministries
#amandapattersonblogs