Back to Life
Moving beyond our past can be a tricky business. If we aren’t careful, it can become the anchor of our life that we never meant to have. Tying us to a particular place, occupation, or relationship. And the reality is, the past can be difficult to confront. So we tuck it away in the closet of our heart, hoping that it will just stay there and never come back out. The unfortunate truth is, the more we ignore or hold onto the past, the more it comes back to eat away at our personal growth. Especially when it comes to our walk with Jesus. Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross made a way for us to receive the forgiveness of God and become a new creation. But our past wants to hold us back from the newness of life God has intended for us as our relationship with Jesus grows.
If anyone understood the weight of their mistakes, it was King David. At the lowest point of his life, where he thought he couldn’t move forward, he wrote this psalm: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51:1-2 NIV). David understood that the only way to move forward was through the grace of God. He goes on to say Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:10-12 NIV).
It’s God only through the work of Jesus Christ that we can find restoration from the things that weigh us down. And in Him we can find overflowing joy in the future to come. What is the thing or things that weigh you down this week? This month? Or even this year? What steps can you take this week to let go of the things of the past that you are holding on to? The apostle Paul thought he had no way forward and that his past was just too terrible to be of any use for Jesus in this world, but Jesus calls him my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel (Acts 9:15 NIV). God had bigger plans for David’s life beyond his faults. God had bigger plans for Paul’s life beyond his past actions. And God has bigger plans for your life beyond the anchor of your past. He is calling you back to life. So that you can say:
No longer I who live, but Christ in me. For I've been born again, my heart is free. The hope of Heaven before me, the grave behind. Hallelujah, You brought me back to life (Bethel, Back to Life).
If anyone understood the weight of their mistakes, it was King David. At the lowest point of his life, where he thought he couldn’t move forward, he wrote this psalm: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51:1-2 NIV). David understood that the only way to move forward was through the grace of God. He goes on to say Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:10-12 NIV).
It’s God only through the work of Jesus Christ that we can find restoration from the things that weigh us down. And in Him we can find overflowing joy in the future to come. What is the thing or things that weigh you down this week? This month? Or even this year? What steps can you take this week to let go of the things of the past that you are holding on to? The apostle Paul thought he had no way forward and that his past was just too terrible to be of any use for Jesus in this world, but Jesus calls him my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel (Acts 9:15 NIV). God had bigger plans for David’s life beyond his faults. God had bigger plans for Paul’s life beyond his past actions. And God has bigger plans for your life beyond the anchor of your past. He is calling you back to life. So that you can say:
No longer I who live, but Christ in me. For I've been born again, my heart is free. The hope of Heaven before me, the grave behind. Hallelujah, You brought me back to life (Bethel, Back to Life).
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