From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. — Psalm 22:10
The past is part of you. If you’ve read my book, The Gift of Transformation, you know that I spent years trying to divorce myself from my past. I tried to ignore it, to overcome it, to forget it, to pretend it didn’t happen. But none of those things worked.
I finally realized the truth: You can try to forget the past, but the past doesn’t forget you.
You are that three year old, that sixteen year old. They are part of you. Everything in the present flows out of the past.
Some people, driven by a faulty interpretation of Philippians 3:13, think we are to forget the hurts of the past. But this is not so. This verse refers to setting aside past self-righteous accomplishments so we can focus on something worthwhile: knowing Christ.
What do we do with past hurts? For one thing, we are to forgive the offenses of the past. This, of course, is impossible, like everything else in the Christian life, and cannot be done without God’s intervention. But, beyond that, on a grander scale, every one of those hurts becomes an opportunity to get to know Christ. Here’s a place to start: Okay, it hurt then and it still hurts now, but what, Lord Jesus, do you want me to understand about You in this hurt? How do You want me to experience You here?
God wants us whole, not split up into parts. Once I understood the connection between my past and the present, I started on a journey toward wholeness and into a discovery of a healing God.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries?
Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace,
wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries.
Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being
restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in
restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and
encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord,
and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this
happens as a result of one person’s efforts, but rather this is God’s
work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We
partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with
the Lord. That’s how the supernatural happens.
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