Have you ever stopped to think how God could use the sins you and I have committed, the hurts we've suffered, the rejection we've experienced to minister to others? All of our past has purpose in God's plan. But Satan would have us believe otherwise.
Some people have difficulty getting over their past. Satan will try to convince us that we can never be healed, set free, or of any value to God. If we let him, Satan will control our emotions so much that we will be haunted by our past, have regrets and send our emotions into a tailspin. So how do we deal with this?
First of all, we must recognize them as lies. Any thought that takes us back to our life before Christ is not from God. God always looks as us as the new creatures we are in Christ Jesus. But Satan wants to focus our thoughts on the past so we cannot concentrate on what God has set before us. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13 that we are to "forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead." Our healing begins with the understanding that God is in control and we are a part of His plan.
It has been said before that God never wastes a hurt in our lives. Job said it best in Job 42:4, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."
4 comments:
I can relate to all of that. Daily struggle.
Barbie,
I am so glad that you are blogging again! I love to be the recipient of your wisdom. It is also great to have your smiling back in its rightful place on the weather! Thanks for being such an encourager!
Debbie C
Thanks, Barbie, I needed that message. When you were here at Meadville Methodist to speak, I mentioned the quote on forgiveness: "Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could be different." That applies to forgiving ourselves also, I think. Another favorite quote is by Rebecca Beard: "The past is finished. There is nothing to be gained by going over it. Whatever it gave us in the experiences it brought us was something we had to know." That will preach, huh? Keep those encouraging posts coming, I love them. Rom. 15:13
Barbie........Just remember there are a whole lot more people out here who think you are a wonderful person and do a wonderful job and who are EXTREMELY GLAD YOU ARE BACK ON THE AIR...... WE MISSED YOU.....don't let the folks that send you negative comments bother you......keep up the good spirit you have ......Sue
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