I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Philippians 3:13

Some people are just stuck. They are always looking back and allow their past to hold them hostage there. We have all been stung by someone’s harsh words. We have experienced the pain of broken relationships: our own or our parents’, and we have looked regret in the eye and been buried by shame, paralyzed by guilt. But Jesus never called us to live eternally condemned by Him or by ourselves. He calls us to hand Him the weight of our emotional burdens and live in freedom, instead. He calls us to walk courageously into the future He has planned for us and let go of who we once were.

While our pain is very real and our hurts are certainly not insignificant, we were never meant to live beneath their shadow. But in order to live in the light, it’s up to us to get out from under that oppressive gloom. We each must make the decision to intentionally receive the forgiveness, healing, and restoration Jesus offers. Only then can we step into the life we are called to live—regardless of what has happened in our past. 

Every day, the Lord gives you a choice. You can cling to the past: past hurts, past mistakes, or past habits that control you, or you can cling to Him and allow Him to pull you out of the darkness and into His glorious light. You must leave who you WERE behind, before you can step into who He is shaping you to become. Your past can only define you if you choose to give it power over you. Jesus doesn’t care who you were or what was said or what you did. He cares about who you are becoming! If He has let go of whatever is holding you back, so should you! You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are forgiven (Psalm 32:1-2). And you are so very loved! 

You are honored, and I love you.  Isaiah 43:4