“Where is another God like You, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of His special people? You will not stay angry with Your people forever, because You delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under Your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! You will show us Your faithfulness and unfailing love as You promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.” (Micah 7:18-20 NLT)
Too many times, our past overshadows any hope we think we might have had for any meaningful and productive future that could possibly offer any glory or honor to the Lord Jesus. When our focus remains on ourselves and our sin, we lose right perspective and become blind to the grace of God made available through the sacrifice or our Savior.
Micah’s insightful words, given to Him by the Lord, revealed far more than hope for exiled Jews. His words ring forever true for anyone who has lost their way and found themselves in exile to their sin and shame. Unfortunately, it’s not only our sin that bogs us down or discourages us. We may be unhappy because as we view ourselves, we’re not as smart or as physically attractive, or perceptive, or funny, or a thousand other things that seem to separate us from all the other people we perceive as better equipped for life than we are.
We categorize ourselves and count ourselves out from excelling in anything, expecting only mediocre or less in every dimension of our life. “Why apply for college, I’m not smart enough?” “Why try out for a sports team, a role in a play, the orchestra or choir? I have no talent?” “Why hope for a meaningful relationship? Who would ever be attracted to me?”
These kinds of demeaning comments about ourselves are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, often culminating in: “What would God ever see in me? Why did He make me so worthless? So useless?” We’re prone to look at what to us seems so obvious and evaluate ourselves based on the world’s poor and wrong opinions of us. Do you want to know what God thinks of you?
Here’s what the God of the Bible says about you: “Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”
The Psalmist continues, but hopefully you get the picture of how unique, special, and divinely created you are. Not only that, when you open your heart to His Lordship by inviting Him to forgive you and fill you with His Spirit, He gives you spiritual gifts, again, unique to you, that you can invest in His eternal Kingdom. I love how Tony Campolo describes this when he writes: “Your past is important, but it is not nearly as important to your present as the way you see your future.”
Your past may have brought you to where you are, but by God’s grace, He can take you to places in your future you never dared dream possible. Open your heart to Jesus. Put your whole trust in Him by asking Him to forgive your sin and fill you with Himself. The Bible says: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.’”
Regardless of your past or even your present, place your life into the capable hands of the Savior, the Lord Jesus, by tapping this link anewstory.com and beginning a new life you’ve never dared dream was possible.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 