Welcome back!
We will never move forward into the clear and joyous light of destiny until we stop dragging the past around with us. We won’t be able to make progress if the weight of the past has us stuck in place. The past holds too many people in bondage. There is no greater area for the devil to mess with us than in the area of our history. He shouts lies in our ears that wear us down over time, getting us to believe that we’re either too far gone for redemption or don’t deserve it. We can totally trust in God’s plan for our life, no matter what has come before. We’ve already claimed our resurrection power, so now we’ll talk about what needs to happen next: 1) dealing with our mistakes, 2) overcoming hardships, and 3) committing to making healthier choices. Starting this process is all that is required to start building our destiny.
While your mistakes may have had permanent consequences, they do not define who you are permanently. Every day you wake up you’re given a chance to create yourself anew. When you turn your life over to a Higher Power you become a new creation. Your guilt at this point serves no useful purpose other than informing you of what you don’t want to do again. When you don’t pursue your destiny because of mistakes in your past, you cost the world the future good you could have done that may have far exceeded any harm you ever caused. It’s also true that some mistakes do cause irreversible harm. Some cause destruction that can never be made up for, but those circumstances are rare. If this is your situation, all hope is not lost. Resolve not to compound the trauma you’ve caused, and do everything you can to put some sort of good back into the world. Make restitution in whatever way is possible.
For most of us, we’re fortunate enough that our mistakes can be dealt with by making amends. Relationships can emerge even stronger after weathering a period of conflict. This is not to excuse ourselves from responsibility, or to say what we did was ok or not a big deal. Having a negative impact in this world is a very big deal, but we can’t go back and undo history now. All we can do is take full accountability and try to make things right so we can move forward into a positive future. If a specific action or inaction can’t be made right, then perhaps the relationship as a whole can still be set right. Perhaps you can become so honoring now, that your past mistakes fade away and no longer cause any pain. Some amends are not singular acts. Some of them must be lived daily. There is no need to hang our heads in shame over this, we can’t create the future until we can see it, and we can’t see it if we don’t look up! If we hang on to guilt and shame, they can drive us to continue making mistakes that will only get worse as time goes on. The best amends we can give anyone is to not repeat what we did wrong in the first place.
Until next time, I’ll be praying for you to drop those chains of bondage and step free into the life you really want.
