There have
been quite a few girls that I have come into contact with lately that have all
struggled with the same thing…their past.
Thinking
about their past brings them pretty intense fear. Fear that if people were to
find out some of the things they have done, they would look at them differently
and think them to be an awful person…or fear that their revealed past will
discredit who they are today.
Usually,
this fear brings the desire to run.
Run from
everyone they know and run to people who do not know what they have done.
The idea
sounds great doesn’t it? Running from all the mistakes you have made and from
all of the people who know you have made them. Not only that, but running to somewhere
new. A new place where no one knows you or what you have done. A new life – a
fresh start. An opportunity to be the person you have always wanted to be – an
opportunity to convince everyone that you are perfect.
I would be
lying if I said these thoughts have not crossed my mind a time or two…or three
or four…
I know I
have said it before – I am a runner!
As soon as I
see that things are starting to get messy, I grab my personal belongings which
are nearest to me and I run.
Or at least
I used to…
But lately –
some things about my past have scared me and made me feel insecure and
inadequate and…frankly…have just stuck their ugly little heads up and haunted
me.
What we need
to realize and accept right up front is that we cannot change the past. It is
what it is.
There is NO
going back and there is NO running from it!
But if we
love God, then why would we want to run from our past?
Our
“present” shows who God has changed us into, and our past can no longer control
us. We are still sinners, of course! But we are better. We have Christ and we
have accepted and embraced the change that He has given us.
But how
would we be able to see and understand the results of this change unless we saw
who we were before the change?
Our past
shows who we were before Christ. It
shows how awful and disgusting we can be. It shows who we are without God and
how desperately we need Him.
Our present
state really seems to offer no hope to anyone else unless they know how we were
before Christ…and not just after Him.
Don’t run
from people who know true things
about you. Don’t be afraid of what people think of you because of things in
your past. Be who you are now – who you are IN CHRIST. And be HONEST! Admit to
who you once were…don’t try to hide from it – you never know who your testimony
could give hope to.
But PLEASE –
don’t try to be someone you’re not. Don’t run away to a place where no one
knows you just because you are afraid of what people think about you - Be
confident in God! Be confident in the change that He has placed in you!
Remember –
God uses the people that we would never expect, to show His love and power
through!
In His
gracious sovereignty He can use and WILL use anything and everything for HIS
glory!!! PRAISE GOD!!!
Romans 8:28
states that “in all things
God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to
his purpose.”
“in ALL
THINGS”…
Not just some things or only the good things…but ALL things!!!
If people
saw who you were before Christ’s change and see who you are now and they still
don’t believe in God’s power and grace, then that is on them. Don’t be
concerned with what people think about you – only be concerned with how God
sees you.
I think that
sometimes the places that we can be the greatest witnesses of Gods power to
people are the very places that we just want to run from…because showing His
power, also shows our vulnerability…
Don’t run.
Don’t
prohibit God from using you in a way that you never thought possible…
Telling
someone about who we once were and them actually seeing it first-hand are two
completely different things. Don’t take the gift of witnessing Christ’s power
in your life away from someone because you are afraid.
