Pasts

(Mostly written Monday)  As I cruised through my Google Reader this morning, Kelly's words stood out to me:

He said "Don't ever let your past stop you from your future ministry".  That is so true. I think so many people think because of something they did in their past - that they aren't good enough for God to love them or to use them. That is simply not true.  God can use you BECAUSE of your past. I love the saying "God never calls the equipped. He equips those He calls".  No matter where you are in your life or what talents you have or think you don't have - God can use you for mighty things if you are just willing.

Past.  For some reason it easily has a negative connotation.  It can easily feel like a burden we carry with us.  Today, I've been listening to Josh Garrels' Farther Along.  If you don't know it, I suggest to listen to it on repeat for at least a few hours.  I haven't listened to it in a while and it seemed perfect for this rainy Monday. These words stood out to me:

That deadweight burden weighs a ton
Go down into the river and let it run
Wash away all the things you've done
Forgiveness alright


Wash away all the things you've done.  The truth is, some of us have pasts full of pain and misery, things we are ashamed of, things we wish we could erase, things that make mercy and grace and the cross that much sweeter.  And some of us have pasts that appear quite tame, or even wonderful.  Perhaps most of us have pasts filled with good and bad, things we're proud of others we're ashamed of.

Regardless, they are over.  Yesterday is just that: over.  We can't edit it, but we can steer the course for today and tomorrow.  If we have lived pasts either shameful or glorious, we are in danger of being defined by them.  We are in danger of not trusting the Lord for the here and now and the future.  Looking back can help us see the hand of God at work, and can encourage us and challenge us.  But aren't called to be stuck there, rather to live ever present in the moment...

To be frank, I'm not even sure why these words effected me so much today...I'm not struggling with my past, per se.  Though, there's always things I would change if I could.  And, it's been rainy which tends to make me more introspective.  Perhaps I just needed to be reminded that 1. God uses me (and you)  2. to be engaged with the Lord today  3. renewed hope for the future.


There's something so freeing and so exciting about not having any burdens (of the past) and being washed clean.