Overwhelmed Because Of Your Past?
We all have things in our past that we're not proud of. But we have to remember that every person we lock eyes with (including the person we saw in the mirror this morning) needs grace and forgiveness. We have to let our past die, because if we don't, it will not allow us to truly live! Jesus WANTS for us to have a life that is filled with joy! He knew every stupid, foolish, sinful decision we would ever make, and yet He still chose to create us, love us, pursue us, and rescue us.
Here are seven things to keep in mind when you start to feel overwhelmed about your past…
#1 – There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ—that means NONE! (Romans 8:1)
#2 – Jesus makes ALL THINGS new! (II Corinthians 5:17)
#3 – Jesus does not partially clean us…He does it completely! (Isaiah 1:18)
#4 – God knew EVERYTHING about you before He created you, everything you were going to do…and did it anyway and went ahead and arranged for the payment for your sins to be made! (Romans 5:6-8).
#5 – God is SLOW to anger! (Psalm 103:8)
#6 – It is a spiritual impossibility to out sin the grace of God! (Ephesians 2:4-9)
#7 – God can change anyone, at anytime and use that person for things that they could never imagine! (Acts 9:1-6)
There is only one way to deal with our brokenness and our past, and that’s to accept the forgiveness Jesus offers. Once you surrender your life to Christ, your identity is not found in what you have done but rather by what Jesus has done for you on the Cross. And just because we may not feel forgiven at times doesn’t change the fact that in Christ God has forgiven us all our sin. Because our past has been paid for, our potential is unlimited.
I recently wrote a book about my battle with depression called "Overwhelmed". It's about the darkest time in my life and what the Lord taught me through it. Even though it was a very difficult time for me, I am so thankful that the Lord used that time to teach me more about who HE is and allowed me to heal from my past and learn how to make better choices in the present.
So whenever you're feeling overwhelmed by your past, remember this: God is not threatened by our past or our current circumstances — He is a grave-robbing, water-walking, miracle-working, death-defying God. And that same God lives in YOU!