A little over six years ago, I was struggling to move past my past. I was haunted in my dreams about the mistakes I made. I was reminded of the people I hurt and wounded with my poor choices. I knew God forgave me; I knew my wife forgave me; but couldn’t find the grace needed to forgive myself. I woke up one morning and Trisha had printed out and framed this quote for me:
Our future-who we are becoming, where we are going-matters more than our past-where we have been. Our future has more power to name us and define us than our past. Consummation swallows origins. Destiny, not history, is the ultimate ground of our identity. How does a prostitute named Rahab, a Moabite outsider named Ruth, an incestuous schemer named Tamar, an adulteress woman named Bathsheba, end up in the birth line of Jesus? Because in God’s economy the person we become, not the person we have been, is the person we truly are. - Mark Buchanan
Maybe you think your past is more powerful than God’s forgiveness.
Maybe you believe that your mistakes will define your future.
Maybe you are living as though your failure will prevent you from being used by God.
Maybe you have bought the lie that the person you truly are is the person you used to be.
Not in God’s economy.
God isn’t finished with you.
Shame can’t defeat you unless you allow it.
Guilt can’t come against you unless you invite it.
Your past can’t determine your destiny unless you live in it.
Failure can’t define you unless you permit it.
God sees you right now not for who you used to be; but for who He is creating you to be.
Live in His economy today.
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