Getting Past Your Past
Ponder: Feelings of Guilt
Scripture: “There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NKJV).
Does your past haunt you? Christian, God has forgiven you, and He wants you to forgive yourself! Getting past your past can be a real challenge. However, by God’s grace, you can put your past behind you and move forward with the Lord. Psalm 103 assures us:
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (v. 11). “The distance to the stars is so great we cannot comprehend it. God’s mercy toward us is also beyond our ability to measure or grasp.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (v. 12). East is infinitely far from west, and that is how far away God has removed our sins. They are *gone*! We are not held accountable for them anymore.
“As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him” (v. 13). Godly fathers know their children are not perfect, but they love and help them anyway. Even when children get into a mess of their own making, godly fathers pity them and help them overcome it. God does the same thing in absolute perfection. That thought continues in the next verse . . .
“For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (v. 14). God understands that we are frail and fallible. That isn’t an excuse for sin; but we are comforted in knowing that He is aware of our weaknesses, and that He loves us in spite of them.
I hope these thoughts encourage you to read Psalm 103 in its entirety. Read it slowly, and think of God’s love and mercy toward you. Then, do as the first and last lines of the psalm say: “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”
Song: “There Was One Who Was Willing To  Die In My Stead”
Prayer: We praise You, Heavenly Father, for your matchless grace and mercy poured out upon us through Jesus Christ. Help us, we pray, to love You as You love us, and to put the sins of our past behind us, serving you with renewed zeal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)