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When I was asked to write this blog post, I was excited. I have always loved to write, and I consider it an honor to write for “The Table”. But as I sat down to gather my thoughts, an all too familiar voice crept in. The enemy began reminding me of who I used to be, and had me questioning whether I am the right person to be writing a Christian blog post. As a matter of fact, it hasn’t been that long ago that I was as far away from God as I could possibly be. It’s easy to let the enemy convince us that we are not good enough. But we can’t let the enemy dictate our thoughts about ourselves, and God.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you wish there was a reset button? You know those times that you said, or done something that left you crippled with regret. Those are the very things that our adversary uses against us. His intentions are to separate us from God’s will for our lives. In Isaiah, Israel was being punished for their sins because they had rebelled against God. They probably felt shameful, but God wanted to encourage them that although they were being punished, that they were not forsaken. He wanted to give them a fresh start.
I believe that is what God does for us in times that we beat ourselves up for past mistakes. What feels like a punishment to us is His way of drawing us closer to Him. He wants us to acknowledge His presence so that He can give us a fresh start. In Isaiah 43:18, “The Lord says, ‘Forget about what has happened before. Do not think about the past. Instead, look at the new things I’m going to do.”
We have all made mistakes, but we don’t have to let our past define us. I remember a time in my own life that I was overcome by grief, and despair. I had messed up so many times, and felt like a complete failure. I thought that I was too far gone. God found me in my brokenness, and gave me a second chance.
There are times that we may feel that God holds our past against us. But it is important to understand that He is more interested in our futures than our past. God is in the business of giving second chances. Scripture tells us that if we admit our mistakes, and failures that we get another chance in life. God shapes our lives through those experiences where we think we have failed. But as long as we don’t give up we are not a failure.