Let Go Of Your Past Mistakes
They still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe. -- Mark 6:52
It’s not easy to believe Jesus. Really. It isn’t.
I know I’ve just ruffled a few feathers and caused a few folks to doubt my own beliefs. But go back and reread that first sentence. I didn’t say it wasn’t easy to believe in Jesus. I said it wasn’t easy to believe Jesus.
How do I know this? Because of all that baggage so many of us are caring around day after day, week after week after week. God forgave us years ago but we can’t seem to forgive ourselves or get beyond a past we can’t change.
We know we are all sinners. And we know God uses everything for the good of those who love Him, including those awful things we’d rather keep hidden in the darkness. We know we’re forgiven. We do. Well, sort of.
We believe God forgives others. At least, most of us do. There are a few who think God only forgives certain people for certain things. These are the people who, 20 years after the fact, still bring up sin or mistakes or bad choices. It’s as though by reminding us of our pasts they can take the focus off of themselves and their own sins.
It’s not so easy to forgive ourselves. Our minds -- fueled by Satan -- continue to replay all those things we’ve done or those things we didn’t do. We should’ve taken that job for less money. At least, we’d have a job and not the continual threat of unemployment. We should have insisted he go to the doctor instead of waiting for the heart attack that killed him. We should have managed our finances better instead of believing that the good times would always be good. Maybe if we’d spent more time in church and less time at the beach our child wouldn’t be addicted to drugs right now.
And on and on. But the thing is we can’t move forward to a better tomorrow because we’ve let today get mired down in the past. It’s like somewhere deep inside we really don’t believe God has forgiven us so we hold on to our unworthiness rather than letting Jesus’ blood wash us clean.
It’s amazing that we can get anything done for the weight of all that baggage we’re carrying around. What would happen if we just put it down? How would our lives change if we placed those bags at the cross -- really and truly -- and started walking forward without them?
Wow! The relief is amazing, isn’t it? The burden is gone. Our hardened hearts are made new again and we can embrace today with renewed vigor. We are forgiven. We are chosen. We have indeed been remade into new people. Jesus’ blood gave us another chance. Take it and rejoice in the grace He has extended to all of us.
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