We’ve all been there: that raw moment when you find yourself staring into the mirror and you can’t quite seem to recognize the person staring back at you. You ask yourself, “Who is this person? Who have they become? Who led me down this path? How did I get here?” The figure staring back is taunting you– a haunting and painful reminder of all your past regret. This is all so familiar to me. In fact, as of very recent, I still couldn’t bring myself to face that mirror. I had let my remorse overtake me. So much so, that I lost myself in Christ. I thought I was unworthy of any type of love, let alone His precious love. That was, until, I realized that Jesus has forgiven me for my sinful nature, my mistakes, my poor choices, my demons; He forgave me the instant He was nailed to the cross – He paid the wages of sin in that very instant and has never looked back.
Ephesians 1:7-10 In him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in Heaven and which are on earth – in Him.
If you are standing where I once stood, you are probably wondering how I freed myself of the guilt that ensued my mistakes. Getting past your past is difficult. However, it IS made easy when we involve Christ, when we establish our place in Christ, when we put on Christ. First, remember that you are one of His. He loves us in our many shapes and forms—sinner or saint, broken or mended; beautiful all the same. Psalms 103:12 “As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Sin cannot separate us from our Father.
Next, I encourage you to reach out to Him. You see, the climb (this life) would be a lot easier if you wouldn’t have to bear it with all that weight on your shoulders (regret, pain, remorse for your past). What if I told you that your load could be released today, that you could continue this climb without suffering—all you have to do is ask. Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ASK for forgiveness and it will be given to you. SEEK forgiveness and you will find it. KNOCK and forgiveness and the grace of God will be opened to you. Don’t stop there, though. Request that His truth be opened to you and through this truth you may right your wrongs.
Lastly, REBUKE the devil. Oftentimes, I find myself asking God for forgiveness, yet not finding peace in my circumstances. How can this be? This is enemy working against you. The devil devises calculated, manipulative, and slow-working strategies to keep you as far away from our Savior as possible. What better way to accomplish his sick mission than through deceit? The enemy provokes you to believe things like “You will never be good enough, Jesus can’t love you after what you did, and you’ll never change.” You are good enough, Jesus’s love is unfailing, and anything is possible through Christ – don’t let the devil convince you otherwise. Reject the enemy; God has equipped you with all that you need to do so.
Free yourself from all your past demons and strongholds. Put on Christ, ask Him to renew you, and rebuke the devil when he tries to convince you are not worthy/loved. “You are more than the choices that you’ve made, you are more than the sum of your past mistakes. You are more than the problems you create. You’ve been remade. This is not about what you’ve done, but what’s been done for you. This is not about where you’ve been, but where your brokenness leads you to. This is not about what you feel, but what He felt to forgive you, and what He felt to make you loved.” – Tenth Avenue North
Be bold in Christ and face the mirror that is your past because YOU ARE MORE.
