Overcoming the past

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 1 – 2

I don’t know about you but there are times when my past failures, mistakes and stupid errors of judgement come flooding back to condemn me. There are so many things that I would not do now especially with the benefit of hindsight that I foolishly did in the past. There are so many things I would do differently. 

However when failure and condemnation seek to come flooding in the first and most important thing to remember is that God is not calling us a failure nor is he condemning us. The devil is. You see if he can get us to focus on our failures and mistakes, we will not be focusing on the possibilities before us now. It is like driving a wedge between God and his plans and purposes and ourselves. 

Condemnation swamps us with failure and a sense of guilt and inadequacy. God showers us with blessings and possibilities. If we trust God with our lives, he will bring good out of every situation – even our monumental mistakes. His word assures us of that. Romans 8: 28 says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose. It may be a very familiar verse but it is also the EXIT sign to feelings of shame and failure from mistakes.

My teenage years were not a time in which I take any pride. I was rebellious and foolish because I felt no one like or loved me.  I did a lot of very silly things. Yet God used those experiences to give me such a heart for teenagers so they would not walk in the same rebellion and rejection that I had felt.  

We must resist the devil and all his lies, not invite him in and listen to his nonsense. Jesus’ death on the cross took all our sin, guilt and shame. Our past is not a problem to God and we must not let the devil use it to condemn us. We are free so let’s walk in freedom and let God renew our minds so when the devil reminds us of the past and its failures, we think instead of how much God has done and the good he is bringing from our mistakes.