‘Just as Christ was raised from the dead … we too may live a new life.’ Romans 6:4 NIV
Refuse to let your past rob you of your future. This year God wants to give you a new start. Let’s face it, we all have relationships that can’t be healed, and issues that will never be resolved to our liking. But by God’s grace, we can forgive, forget, and move on. You don’t have to lie awake at night digging up old bones, picking at scars, and reviving painful memories. If you give them an opening, the ghosts of your past will take up residence in your head. You say, ‘But I still struggle in so many areas.’ We all do. Even the great apostle Paul admitted he didn’t have it all together. Unlike those who condemn in others the very things they struggle with themselves, Paul admits: ‘For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me … For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing’ (Romans 7:15, 17-19 ESV). ‘Thank you, Paul,’ from all of us who mistakenly thought that once we became Christians there would be no more struggles! But Paul doesn’t stop there; he adds these two important Scriptures:
1) ‘Just as Christ was raised from the dead … we too may live a new life’ (Romans 6:4 NIV).
2) ‘In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:11 NIV). You ask, ‘How then should I handle my old issues?’ Admit them, give them up, and forget them! Instead of fighting battles you can’t win, let Christ’s resurrection power sweep through your life and sever the ties between you and the pain of your past.
As you journey in the new year, may your days be filled with light. May the Lord remember you for good. Happy new year!!!
SoulFood: Rom 13:12 – 14:19 Matt 1:1-17 Isa 43:18-19
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
