You do not have to deny your past struggles to overcome them. But you should not make a proud badge out of your sinful or tragic past too. You do not need to wear it everyday as a testament that you have been hurt, and that whoever you turned out to be was because of it.
When we decided to follow Jesus, He transformed us into a new creation, He breathed life to our souls that were once dead to sin. We are no longer defined by our past, our previous mistakes are not who we are.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
And so we should never believe the lie that we are damaged goods and that we can never start again. No one is beyond God’s radar of redemption. As we are redeemed, we are also called to move forward, and start living a life that honors Christ.
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Galatians 2:20 and Philippians 3:8-14 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you wear your sinful or tragic past like a badge of honor? What will make you remove that badge? And how does knowing that the Lord died on the cross to give us a fresh start, convince you that you are a new creation and you can start over?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for sacrificing for us. Give us the confidence to leave behind what holds us back, and move forward in living our lives for you. Amen.