Past

Past

My Question for God

Can I live a healthy, godly life, in spite of my past?

A Moment with God

I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done.

Psalm 143:5

[The Lord said,] “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18

You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it.

Galatians 1:13

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

Philippians 3:13

Your memory of the past is like a photo album that contains snapshots of your life. These snapshots are not just of happy moments and celebrations; they also record your failures, tragedies, and acts that caused you deep shame. Most of us would like to lock some of our past away or tear out the snapshots that expose the parts we’d like to forget. The apostle Paul, considered one of the great leaders in the New Testament, had a past he wished he could forget. His memory album was full of snapshots from his days of persecuting and killing Christians. What an immense burden of regret he could have carried. But Paul understood that his past had been redeemed through God’s healing and forgiveness.

How you view your past will affect how you live in the present and the future. Some of us have good pasts with a strong spiritual heritage from loving parents and mentors. Don’t take that for granted; use it to help others. Some of us have pasts filled with regrets for actions that were wrong and hurtful. No matter what you’ve done, God is ready to forgive you, cleanse you on the inside, and give you a fresh start—fully forgiven. Some people been victims of abuse, neglect, violence, and shameful acts. This is the most difficult past to deal with. But God wants to redeem your past and restore you—you just need to ask him. He can remove your regret, guilt, and shame and free you to live in peace with purpose and joy.

Divine Promise

[God said,] “Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth.”

Isaiah 54:4