Overcoming: Devotions from Time of Graceنموونە

The Brokenness of Feeling Doomed

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Ever hear that saying? I think it means that we are all very much like our parents, that the way we were raised will strongly influence our future. That's a sweet thought if your parents were great role models. It is a terrifying thought if your home was violent, angry, dysfunctional, cold, or perfectionistic.

People talk all the time about "destiny," about "fate," as though their futures have already been written by some unknown and unknowable force. That’s baloney. We are indeed influenced by our past, but we are not controlled by our past, nor by mysterious destiny or fate.

Our Lord is much more interested in our future than in our past. He sends us his Spirit, who is greater than the sin within us. The Holy Spirit even prays for us when we don't know what to say, "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26).

What kind of person would you like to be? Let God help you chart your own course.