Your past does not define you; your attitude does. It is time to see yourself as who God says you are, not as the world. He judges by the purity of our hearts.
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7b
So what does that mean? Once we align ourselves with God, we know that God no longer sees us as the world sees us. His blood and his grace cover the things that we did before we were saved. When we stand in front of the throne of God, all he sees is us as sanctified, washed and sanctified by the sacrifice of Jesus. For those of you who are new Christians, you may wonder what that means in the world and how it works.
God sent his one and only son so that we could be reconciled to God. Jesus paid the price of sin (which is death), by living a sinless life and then overcoming death.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
We are given the gift of eternal life when we put our faith in Jesus, believe he overcame death, and is the one who God promised as the Messiah.
“You know that he appeared for the very purpose of taking away our sins, and in him there is no sin.” 1 John 3:5
Our sin was taken away, in Him (that is in relationship with Christ Jesus). When we are first saved and given the salvation message, we willingly surrender all our ways to God. We ask Jesus to cleanse us, to take away our burdens and to trust him and allow him to be lord of our lives. So why is it that after we have done that, we continue to carry the burdens he has taken away?
One of the things we do, is we believe if we were better, God would love us more. Well, there is never a time you will be without sin. Our minds and bodies are always tempted to do the wrong thing. Once we walk in our journey with Christ, we often wonder why in the world we arent better, and we are convicted on how “bad we are.” Sure, maybe our life is better, but we still struggle with pride, jealousy, anger, greed, feelings of inadequacy. But God, when he looks at us, he doesn’t see our failings; he just sees Jesus. God knew we couldn’t be good enough, if we could life a sinless life, we would have never have needed Jesus to die for us. So it is no big surprise to God when we fail. So, how do we walk through life knowing we are inadequate, but not allow ourselves to be defeated by our inadequacy? Here are a few things to remind you of.
“Forget the former things: do not dwell on the past. Do I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up: Do you not perceive it? I am making a new way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” Isaiah 43:18-19
Jesus was the new thing. The one who would make a way for all people to have a relationship with a God who is without sin. The way we used to relate to God and the punishment we endured for our sin, has now been handled once and forever by Jesus. But for many of us our minds are distracted with condemnation, shame, or self-judgment.
” Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
We are not to think about the things of the past. The things God has released us from: the inadequacy we have or the brokenness of this world. God is quite aware. Our hope is in Christ and the atoning work he has done for us. To pick up the ashes of our past and to define ourselves by our mistakes is to dismiss what God has done for us. If we think that we can make ourselves better, or that we can be without sin, we are denying our own sinful nature and failing to receive the gift that releases us from the shame of our past or inadequacy. We will be working towards aligning ourselves with Christ throughout our life. We will never be truly holy (sanctified) until we are resurrected with Christ Jesus. So instead of carrying shame, we need to focus our eyes on God, through reading the word, remaining humble, and praying.
We are a new creation. Rejoice.
However, this is a warning. To think that we are without sin, to become prideful or unaware of our sin, and to thing we have worked out our salvation is to make ourselves God. We must be aware of our fallen nature, not so that we can be under condemnation, but so that we are humble and willing to follow the only God. And it is not us. The minute we think we possess the wisdom and are better than any other, the enemy plants pride and division between us and the community. Pride is what separates us from God.
The more you grow with God, the more he will strip you of the idea that you are good enough. But please, know that that is not to make you feel bad. It is to draw you closer to God. It is in our inadequacy that God can be God. Once we realize we can do nothing without Christ, we become more dependent. Do not focus on the past, focus on the work of God, on who you are, who is reborn into the kingdom, and remember your brokenness to have compassion for others. Also, be thankful that God still chose you, even in your mess.
You are loved, claimed, healed, and reborn once you are saved.
If you do not know Jesus, you can ask him to come into your heart. Confess that you believe he was incarnate, led a sinless life, was crucified, died, and was resurrected on the third day. He did this to prove he was God, and in overcoming death, he offers us eternal life when we believe in him. He is active, speaks, and powerful. God wants us to be in a relationship with him. If you are unsure, for the next 30 days, just ask Jesus to show you who he is, to speak to you. To show you he is God. If you are open, he will.
