THE PAST

The past can be a drag. Literally.

The past can be a thing that drags me far away from all that I am now, from all the Lord has redeemed and changed and made new. Sometimes when I think of the past, of who I was, of how I was, of all that I regret and feel ashamed of now…sometimes I feel it dragging me right back there. And then all of the past feels so present.

And then my soul feels shame, embarrassment, regret. Regret for all the manipulative ways, the selfish living, the striving and reaching, the insecurities and the way that insecurity played out in my life, the ways I used others to make myself feel good and beautiful and in control.

The enemy would love for me to stay there. He would love for me to sit on the pile of muck from yesterday.

But Jesus…Jesus is Redeemer. He is “make new-er”. And He loves to take the things of the past and use it to make a glorious present and a glorious future. But I have to get off the muck. I have to let go of the past. I have to refuse to allow it to define me, but choose to allow it to refine me. I have to choose to let it make me a new person, a better person.

My past is the past, and does not define my future.
My past is the past, and does not define my future, but can influence my future in so many positive ways.

The question is: will I let that happen?

What about you: do you find it easy to let the past drag you down? How has the Lord used the past to make something awesome in your present?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!