I read something this morning that sort of hits the nail on the head:
Mistakes are something you do, but shame is something you are. A hoarding heart full of past failures can eventually convince you that you didn’t just fail-but that you are a failure. (Live in Grace*Walk in Love by Bob Goff- p.164) (Emphasis his)
WOW! Those are what I will call “diamond words.” They are words that are rich with thought and meaning and will take a while to mine them.
I know so many people-and I sometimes want to stay there myself-who want to wallow in the past and wonder why. Why did I do that? Say that? Act a certain way? We allow our past mistakes to affect our present state. And sadly, we also tend to allow those past mistakes to define who we are.
I further agree with what Bob says a few paragraphs later:
Don’t let your past failures talk you out of God’s grace. Grace moves us toward God and other people. (p.164)
When fear and shame want to isolate us and keep us isolated, locked up in a small cell, grace opens the front door and says, “Let’s talk.” While you are at it, why not jerk the curtains open wide and open those windows? Let the fresh breeze of the Spirit blow through and start clearing out the cob webs as well.
Sometimes, grace is hardest received from one’s self.
Allowing past mistakes to affect our current state and defining who we are… as you said above…
The way the devil likes to keep you in bondage is telling you that you will never be good enough or can’t overcome the wrongs of the past.
Lies that smell like smoke!
I agree with you Ryan. It is most often easier to tell someone else they are forgiven than to tell yourself that you are and believe it. It is a lie from hell.
I would call these diamond words, too, Bill. We can’t move into the future that God wants for us if we think we must remain in the past, haunted by our failures.
Blessings!
Thanks for the confirmation Martha. And I agree with you about moving into the future. Let’s cut with the past.
We just have to look to Jesus when everything else goes wrong.. including our friendships and relationships.
For over 20 years I kept hearing that I was a failure, and that I should do this and that.
But I also heard that even though I was a sinner, Jesus still paid the cost for me, and that I didn’t need to do anything at all!
I am convinced, Ed, that NO ONE is a failure. I’m hoping you have grasped that now.