December 11 ~ Philippians 4:13
Christ gives me the strength to face anything.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
In his book, Become a Better You, Joel Osteen admonishes us to quit putting ourselves down… that doesn’t do us any good. Forget the past… it’s over and done and can’t be changed. If we continue feel guilty about the past, we will lack the strength to live victoriously today – and beyond.” I’m paraphrasing here, but Pastor Osteen makes a very important point.
While Christ gives us the strength to face anything, a lot of us are pretty busy counteracting that strength at every turn by living in the past, wallowing in guilt and shame over something that happened ten years ago, or blaming our childhood for the mistakes we make today! We need to recognize that we are all human. We all have moments that we regret… something we said that was not so kind, a poorly made choice. Who among us hasn’t said (if only to ourselves), “You didn’t do your best on that test… you should have studied more,” or “You should pray more… longer… harder…” or “I can’t believe you gave such a lousy performance – on the court, the field, or in the concert. You should have practiced more”… or even “You are a lousy mom/dad/grandparent/friend. How could you treat this person so badly”?
You can fill in the blanks with your own litany of criticisms. But the point is that we are wasting valuable time living in guilt, shame and resentment and frustration instead of saying, “LORD, I have all of the strength I need because of You… help me to focus my thoughts and actions in a positive direction. Forgive me for the things I’ve done… and help me to do better.” This is what God asks of us… that we humbly admit our shortcomings and disappointments – then try to do better moving forward.
We must remember that God knows what flawed creatures we are… and He loves us anyway. He wants us to succeed… to be happy, productive, hopeful servants. And He has equipped us with everything we need. OUR JOB is to recognize His power within us… and to embrace it!
I’m not suggesting that we limp along in life, make mistakes, then throw up our hands and say, “Oh, well!” We must take responsibility for our actions… and our faults. But we serve a God who stands ready to pick us up and deliver us into a better day… if only we will receive His gifts of wisdom, hope, forgiveness – and strength.
We have a choice today… we can continue to wallow in the past and let the devil remind us about the mistakes we have made – or we can invite Christ Jesus to fill us with His Holy Spirit and give us all the strength we will ever need… and more. We can stay stuck in our rut… or we can let Jesus propel us into a hopeful, productive future. Which way will you decide to go?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label dwelling on the past. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dwelling on the past. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for May 30, 2012
May 30 ~ Ephesians 6:13-18
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Today’s scripture passage in my devotional book, God Calling, was Ephesians 6:13. I would like to share some of the commentary with you, because I can’t say it any better…
Isn’t this exactly how we so often behave? We make mistakes, we fail to live a Godly life… we SIN… and we beg God to forgive us. Then we go on wringing our hands and recanting our faults and claiming them all over again. We cannot be effective in our discipleship if we are continually beating ourselves up for past mistakes. This totally belies our faith. When we give something to God, we must give it to Him completely. This doesn’t mean you totally dismiss what happened to you… or that you fail to learn from past blunders. But there is a huge difference between forgiving past missteps and forgetting them.
What is done is done. If you have sincerely and genuinely confessed your sins and blunders to God and asked Him to forgive you, it’s time to accept His grace and mercy and move forward. God is over and done with what you did or didn’t do yesterday… He is concerned with TODAY.
Where is your focus? Are you trying to carry the burdens of a thousand yesterdays … or have you truly given them to God and faced the challenges and blessings that await you today? Isn’t it time you put on the full armor of God, started living in this twenty-four hours, and faced the future with confidence and courage?
I urge you to let your prayer for today be that God will fully equip you to handle THIS DAY… that He will show you how to cope with your challenges and encourage those in your path to do the same. Leave the past at God’s doorstep, and confidently live in His promises for today and beyond.
©2012 Debbie Robus
*From God Calling, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Today’s scripture passage in my devotional book, God Calling, was Ephesians 6:13. I would like to share some of the commentary with you, because I can’t say it any better…
- “Regret nothing. Not even the sins and failures. When a man views earth’s wonders from some mountain height, he does not spend his time in dwelling on the stones and stumbles, the faints and failures, that marked his upward path. So with you. Breathe in the rich blessings of each new day – forget all that lies behind you.
Man is so made that he can carry the weight of twenty-four hours, no more. Directly, he weighs down with the years behind, and the days ahead, his back breaks. I [God] have promised to help you with the burden of today only, the past I have taken from you; and if you, foolish hearts, choose to gather again that burden and bear it, then, indeed, you mock Me to expect ME to share it.”*
Isn’t this exactly how we so often behave? We make mistakes, we fail to live a Godly life… we SIN… and we beg God to forgive us. Then we go on wringing our hands and recanting our faults and claiming them all over again. We cannot be effective in our discipleship if we are continually beating ourselves up for past mistakes. This totally belies our faith. When we give something to God, we must give it to Him completely. This doesn’t mean you totally dismiss what happened to you… or that you fail to learn from past blunders. But there is a huge difference between forgiving past missteps and forgetting them.
What is done is done. If you have sincerely and genuinely confessed your sins and blunders to God and asked Him to forgive you, it’s time to accept His grace and mercy and move forward. God is over and done with what you did or didn’t do yesterday… He is concerned with TODAY.
Where is your focus? Are you trying to carry the burdens of a thousand yesterdays … or have you truly given them to God and faced the challenges and blessings that await you today? Isn’t it time you put on the full armor of God, started living in this twenty-four hours, and faced the future with confidence and courage?
I urge you to let your prayer for today be that God will fully equip you to handle THIS DAY… that He will show you how to cope with your challenges and encourage those in your path to do the same. Leave the past at God’s doorstep, and confidently live in His promises for today and beyond.
©2012 Debbie Robus
*From God Calling, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.
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