Skip to main content

“He used me not in spite of my past but because of my past!”

A thought by Christine Caine from her book, Unstoppable: Running the Race You Were Born To Win (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

We think that because of our past God can’t or won’t use us.  That isn’t true.

Christine says, “The reality is that nothing I say or do will change those things. The past is set and can’t be changed. What happened, happened. But I can make choices today that will determine my future. And so can you. By putting God at the center of our lives, by dealing with the issues that hold us back, and by recognizing that the plans of God for our future are bigger than the pain and regret of our past, we are able to get up from wherever we are at this moment and move forward.”

She goes on, “Cleaning out and renovating our internal world requires an ongoing, focused commitment on our part. If I’ve made it sound as if throwing off these things was a one-time shot that, once accomplished, was never required again, let me correct that. We must learn and continually relearn to focus on Christ in us at work. It has taken me years of hard work and persistent prayer to throw off the pain and wounds of my past and grow through them. I’ve needed to repeatedly return to the throne of grace and seek God’s strength to forgive and grow. The work of throwing off often takes time and diligent effort.

“If we want to be unstoppable in our race, we need to constantly challenge ourselves to clean out the internal world of our heart and mind so that we have more room to contain more of the power of God within us. Remember, as Christ in us grows larger, our old selves grow smaller. Unloading all the baggage of old sins makes a lot of room for Christ in us to grow.”

She then says, “I don’t know what your past is. I don’t know what pains or sorrows or sins you carry. But I do know that God can turn all of it around and use your past to give someone else a future. That’s what Jesus does. The divine relay is all about passing the baton from one life to another, from one generation to the next. This is what happens when we answer his call, when we hear him say, ‘Follow me,’ and respond in obedience.”

Listen, your past is past.  Maybe your pain is still there but it doesn’t need to control your now and your future.  Would you start the process of God working in and through you?  Would you ask Christ to come in you, would you ask him to begin to work in and through your life?  Would you?

Yes, yes! 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more