God, not your past, Defines Who you are

Join us Monday through Thursday on our Devotional Page as we study scripture and look into a new theme each month. September's theme is: What's Your Story? Each Friday one of the members of Deliberate Women will tie up that week's sub-theme with a blog post. 

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For a long time I {Mandy} looked at the girl in the mirror with contempt. I was so angry at her for all of her mistakes. I'd made so many poor decisions and errors in judgment. 

"I'll never change." I told myself.

There was just too much. I'd done too many things wrong and made some enormous mistakes.

Some things I couldn't even pretend were mistakes...I'd knowingly made bad choices and was living the repercussions of that. 

I bit my lip in certain situations, when I was in certain circles. I'd gloss over certain parts of my past, careful to omit things that I "knew" would raise eyebrows.

For years I sat in church, led ministries even, while wearing a carefully crafted suit of armor, meticulously keeping all at arm's length for fear that they would reject me if they ever found out who I really was. 

I couldn't be a credible Christian if they knew, I told myself. 

Do you know how exhausting it is to live like that?

Do you know how defeating it is to look at yourself day after day and instead of seeing a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), I saw a woman weighed down by her past. I saw slumped shoulders, a down-turned face, and shame.

It took me several long years to come to terms with a simple reality: God loves me and forgave me the moment I asked. I no longer have to wear a countenance of defeat and guilt. 

My past--as riddled with poor decisions and sin as it was--didn't define me. 

It didn't define me. That was a hard truth. 

And as crazy as it seemed, I could look at others with similar or worse pasts and see them as a new creation, forgiven and made clean by the blood of Christ--but to offer myself the same was unthinkable.

But it's true. God tells us that we are no longer who we once were. The moment we come home and ask for His forgiveness, He offers it. 

Isn't that a beautiful Truth?

The same is true for you!

Do you feel weighed down by your past? Do you feel like God can't really use you because you're too damaged? You've made too many bad decisions? You've sinned too much? You're too far gone?

Please hear me when I say this: That's not the case at all. 

If God can use Paul...a man bent on destroying Christians, actually hunting them down to murder them, surely He can use you and me. 

You are not defined by your past...by anything you've done or anything that was done to you. You are defined by the way God looks at you. And God says:

"And, 'I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.'"
2 Corinthians 6:18

So, raise up your chin, Sister. God tells you that you a daughter of The King! That is how you are defined!