No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
How many of us are defined by our past? How many times do we allow our past mistakes to invade our new found freedoms in Christ? But, I don’t deserve a promotion, I failed ten years ago at my first job. I don’t deserve a loving spouse, I was never nice in my other relationships. So many times we don’t let ourselves be free to shine because we don’t think we can ever fully let go of the past.
As a side kicker, we also often hold our new relationships accountable to our past experiences. If we did not trust men in the past, sometimes we don’t trust our husbands. Often men have been so abused by past relations that they find it hard to receive love. I sometimes have to remind my husband that I am not those girls from his past when he gets stuck in a rut of feeling sorry for himself. The past can so blind us from the joy that is right in front of us. I assure you that Satan delights in the moment when we can only see past regrets instead of new life and peace.
God created us to love and this means we are also suppose to love ourselves. I know, that’s a tough pill for some of us to swallow, yet I know this to be true. If we can barely muster enough love for ourselves to get us through another day, then how can we possibly love someone else as God intends? The reality of the situation is that if we hide our true self’s in the darkness of the past, no one will ever see that there is color in our lives.
What if we just started each day with a simple sentence, “Good Morning Lord, today I am choosing to love myself so that I may be able to love others as You have designed me to do.” Perhaps if we made a commitment right now for the next 30 days to say that first thing when we wake up, I wonder if it would make a difference in our lives. Would it change our atmosphere? Would people see something different in our lives? Would we finally be able to accept that God’s love was meant for us too?
I will take this challenge with you. For the next 30 days wake up and say you choose to love yourself. I bet a change will start to happen. You will begin to feel a love for others that perhaps was never there before. I feel the more we begin to love who we are in Christ the less the past will invade our space in today. Are you ready to love you? Are you able to come to the full realization that your past can simply stay behind you? If so, take the challenge and let me know if you notice a difference in your life 30 days from now.
Step Upon the Golden Road with Me! 