Don’t let your past consume you!

With all of the things I've talked about so far, they are choices you make on the outside, toward others. This week, I want to address a choice you make on the inside, toward yourself. It is hard sometimes to understand that our choices from our past have helped make us who we are, and helped guide us to God's purpose and plan for our lives. For this reason, it is important that we forgive ourselves and do not live in the past with regrets and wishes that we'd done things differently. When we allow ourselves to realize that God is able to use the bad and make it good, take our choices that were against His will and repurpose them, we will be able to be used by Him.

1 John 2:2 says, "He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of ALL the world." You think your choices have been bad? Just think about all the people in the world, murderers, pedophiles, thieves, and the list goes on. And again, there is no bias about whose sins are forgivable; it says "ALL the world". He is an all-inclusive God. If He can forgive your sins, and would send "His only-begotten son" for us, sinners, then why would you hold onto those things? The purpose of Him allowing His son to die for us was to forgive our sins, and if you have repented of them and asked Him to guide you, they are forgiven. As long as you hold onto your own regret about choices you've made and "I should have done that differently" you are basically saying Jesus died for no reason. Do not let it be a pointless sacrifice.

This is an important thing to remember as you find your mate, as I am discovering lately. It is hard to accept that God has such a huge purpose for us when we hold onto regrets from our past. His choice for our soul-mate may differ greatly than our image of what we want. This is largely because His image of us is what He created us to be, while our image of ourselves involves so much of what we have been. My husband is amazing, and has always been very clean-cut, together, organized, and focused. I have not really been any of these things. After we got married, I started letting the devil tell me I wasn't worthy of what my husband had to offer, regardless of what my husband said about how much he loved me, no matter my past. I have, in the last couple weeks, come to realize that my spouse is there to lift me up, and the same for me lifting him. I had to change my outlook to the future we have together from the past we had apart.

Romans 8:28 (NLT) "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." So, allow Him to continue to work things together as you are drawn towards His purpose for YOU!!! Do not let your past be what holds you back, let it propel you forward.