Walk in FreedomSample

Where Am I From?

A sign in front of a small north Georgia church offered a message that all of us would do well to heed. It said, “There is no future in the past.” Many people are haunted by their past. In fact, it not only shaped where they’ve been; it continues to shape where they’re going. That’s why it’s important to understand your past and how it can help, or hinder, God’s plan for your life. You have both positive and negative influences in your past. The goal is to weed out the negative influences, those wrong perspectives, and ideologies that are still keeping you from enjoying God’s blessings and being everything He wants you to be. Psalm 139: 13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (NIV). This encouraging passage tells us that from the very start, God had His hand on us. It describes His influence on our core: the person we are inside. But there’s another part of us, and it’s the part shaped by our environment and our experiences. These things can hinder us from being the person God created us to be at our core. That’s why it’s important to recognize your past and the influence it’s having on who you are today. Take a step back and see how your past has power over you. Then, decide to stop being shaped by past negative influences that are keeping you from experiencing God’s best for your life.

PRAY: Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice that gives me a new life. Help me completely recognize that you have forgiven me of my past. Open my eyes to the invitation that you have extended me to follow you in totality with my new life.