Exodus: Stop Walking in CirclesSample

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

It’s easy to let our mistakes define us. It’s easy to beat ourselves up over the things we’ve done or to define ourselves by the horrible things that have been done to us. Listen, friend, we are more than the bad things that have happened to us. God has called us by name! He has called us out of darkness into the light. We are who HE says we are!

I tell a story in the book that makes this point. I had first started working in the anti-human trafficking field and I was able to go on a trip to Washington, D.C. One of the days we were there, I was following a tour guide through the halls of the capitol building, in awe of the works of art that filled the halls. Giant murals lined the walls, and I was fascinated by the stories of American history that each of them told. Around one corner I stopped and stared at a beautiful painting that sat on an easel. It depicted a native woman in a long white dress standing on the steps of an altar. The tour guide said her name; Pocahontas. I gasped.

When I lived a life of crime pre-Jesus, I was given the street name Poca (short for Pocahontas). I was called Poca for years. As a matter of fact, in a life of crime, no one should know your real name for obvious reasons. After I found Jesus, I remember a woman telling me how she saw me in the store and called me by my real name (Rebecca) but I never turned around to greet her. I hadn’t been called by my real name for years. I continued staring at the painting, thinking about my past life and the name I hadn’t thought of in years. I listened as the tour guide talked about Pocahontas.

“Then Pocahontas was baptized,” said the man. “She was given the Christian name Rebecca.”

I was undone. Right there in the front of that painting, I began to weep. No one else knew why I was crying. No one else knew that my old name was Poca. No one knew that the Lord was giving me back the name I was meant for. I realized, looking at that beautiful painting, that often what God calls us out of, he calls us to. It’s been a journey to get where I am today. I have by no means figured everything out. In fact, when I signed this book contract, I had no idea that upon its release, I’d be walking through some of the hardest days of my life. I’m in a season of grief, growth, and I’m trying my best to learn more about myself and God in this season. Some days I realize I am still trying to learn how to live in freedom.

The Hebrew nation had lived in the Egyptian culture for so long, they had taken on the identity of slavery. When God called them out into freedom, it was a process for them to understand what it meant to live in that freedom. God himself reminded them of who he had created them to be. Their past did not define them.

God is calling you too. Don’t let the enemy try to define you by your past mistakes. You belong to the God of the Universe, and HE is your hope. He walks beside you in your search.

Scripture:
1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Prayer:
God, you know our paths. You are familiar with our coming and our going. Thank you for calling us by name and walking with us. Please show us who we are through your eyes. Give us the strength and confidence we need to move forward. Thank you for being our hope.