Have you ever thought about your past and it not go so well? It may start off as reliving the good memories, but then it shifts and all your mistakes start to seep through? Your filter isn’t working and by the end of it, you have torn yourself apart and the ‘what ifs’ have consumed your thoughts.That is where I was last night. My boys are vacationing with their dad and I was missing them terribly. All I wanted was to talk to them and they had been difficult to reach. I found myself thinking about the past and all the hurt my actions had caused. By the end of it I was convinced that my children didn’t miss me or love me as much as they once did. So, I cried…hard. Of course, none of that was true, but I believed it in that moment.

Once I pulled myself together, I felt the urge to read my Bible. The below verse caught my attention:

Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?

Isaiah 43:18-19 Msg

“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.” I was not living out this scripture. I had just spent the last several minutes beating myself up with lies and going over my history..my past. I most certainly hadn’t forgotten, but the truth is God had. In Isaiah 43:25 scripture says, “I, yes I alone-will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.” If God can forgive and forget, then I should do the same.

“Be alert, be present.” The only thing I have is right now in this moment. It doesn’t do any good to live in the past. Living in the past causes blindness. It blinds me from seeing the work God is doing in my life in the present.

I can remove the blinders of my past, and re-focus thru the lenses of God’s future for me.

“I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?” How can I apply this scripture to my life in the present? I can remove the blinders of my past, and re-focus thru the lenses of God’s future for me. I am made a new creation in Christ Jesus. It isn’t about what I have done, it is about what God has done, and what He has done inside of me. 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 says, “..now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone’ a new life burgeons!”

It isn’t about what I have done, it is about what God has done, and what He has done inside of me.

“A new life burgeons!” The definition of burgeons is, ‘begin to grow or increase rapidly, flourish’. Our Heavenly Father wants this for each of us. He doesn’t want us to remain chained by our past, our shortcomings, our sin. He wants us to break free through His forgiveness, so He can bless us and we can flourish right here in the now! I am ready to make this choice, are you ready to decide to not be a prisoner anymore and grasp a fresh start with Jesus?

Living in His grace,

Misty