ARE PAST FAILURES DRAGGING YOU DOWN?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like
the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
(Isaiah 44:22)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever thought about why we have a memory? Some
would say that our memory of previous failures is what helps
us to be successful in the future. We can recall the things that
didn’t work and look for other options in the future.

Others might say that whenever we recall good times of the past,
it brightens our day. We can remember the joy and happiness we
experienced, and those feelings can override unpleasant things
currently going on in our lives.

Still others may say it is a curse that causes us to drag around
bad things which have happened to us, and the bad choices we
have made. We are like a boat trying to move forward but our
anchor is still dragging the bottom. We want to forget the bad
things, but our memory will not allow that to happen.

God created everyone with an amazing capacity to store and
recall past events. Isn’t it astounding how He gave us an ability
to preserve things in our brain, and to be able to bring back
those memories again and again?

Memories can be blessings that are full of comfort, assurance,
and joy. As we grow older, we recall things that happened many,
many years ago. When we are distraught, we can find comfort in
remembering God’s promises that have been permanently stored
away in our minds. Promises such as:
    Keep your lives free from the love of money and
    be content with what you have, because God has
    said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
    (Hebrews 13:5)

Many can be tormented by memories of past sins which continue
to haunt them. When reviewing the mistakes of our past, and when
we consider the certainty of stepping into eternity, many would be
willing to trade all their possessions to erase their past mistakes.

Think about this, when the Lord saves us, Satan knows that we
have escaped his grip on us, and he is not happy about it. There
is a phrase in a Christian song that says, “Hell lost another one!”
That phrase sums up what happens when we receive salvation
from the Lord.

We can all attest that Satan has many ‘weapons’ that he can use
against us. Before we were saved, he didn’t need to use any of
them, because we ‘belonged’ to him already. It’s after we’ve been
saved that he unleashes all his weapons in his effort to discourage
and make us miserable.

One of his weapons is our memory. He knows that if he can cause
us to keep remembering our failures, then we will have less focus
on the goodness of God and His forgiveness. Why would he want
to do that? Because he wants us to remain discouraged, ashamed,
and focused on things that are not Godly, so we will be ineffective
in serving the Lord.

The more Christians he can cause to be useless in serving the Lord,
the more he can negatively impact the lives of believers. His goal is
to cause us to miss out on the joy of our relationship with the Lord,
and to have doubts about our salvation (even though God’s Word
tells us that when we are saved, we have been ‘sealed’ for redemption).
    You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off
    your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be
    made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self,
    created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore
    each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor,
    for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not
    let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a
    foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must
    work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have
    something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk
    come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up
    according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not
    grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day
    of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and
    slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate
    to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
    (Ephesians 4:22-32)

Satan wants us to forget how the scriptures remind us of the depth of
God’s love for us. He wants us to forget how much God desires for all
to come to Him for redemption. God wants us to enjoy fellowshipping
with Him and praying to Him now, and for us to look forward to
spending an eternity with Him.
    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble
    or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger
    or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all
    day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No,
    in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
    who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
    neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
    nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in
    all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
    that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    (Romans 8:35-39)

Conversely, Satan wants us to be miserable now (after we have been
saved), and for us to remain destined for eternal punishment (if we
have not been saved). Why? Because that’s his destiny for thinking
he was God’s equal and for not repenting. The phrase we have all
heard, “misery loves company” is applicable to Satan, isn’t it?

We need to be aware that Satan will use scriptures to ‘plant’
sinful ideas in our mind, which will cause us to be ineffective
in serving the Lord. Thoughts like,
    “The scriptures say that nothing can separate me from
      God’s love, so that means I can continue to sin after
      He has saved me, but I just won’t sin as much”.

The problem with this kind of thinking is:
    The scriptures tell of God’s love, but that doesn’t mean
    we are immune from receiving His punishment for sins.
    Sinning ‘just a little’ is kind of like being ‘just a little
    pregnant’, isn’t it. A woman is either pregnant or she is
    not, and we are either sinning, or we are not.

    As an example, let’s assume a person has an addiction to
    alcohol and after they have been saved, they decide to drink
    ‘just a little’. How long will it be before they are addicted to
    alcohol once again?

    In addition, we should be comparing ourselves to Jesus and
    not to worldly standards. How can any alcoholic consumption
    contribute to our becoming more righteous? How does it help
    us to grow in our salvation? Is it a spiritual sacrifice that is
    acceptable to Jesus?

We can be sure that Satan will look for every opportunity to use
our minds as a way of cleverly controlling us. That’s why we
should spend time reading the bible so our minds will be filled
with the things of God, which will make us effective as servants
of the Lord.

Satan gives us ‘snippets’ of scriptures in order to influence our
thoughts, but he omits the ‘whole’ scripture, which include God’s
instructions of how He wants us to live our lives as a follower of
Jesus Christ.

So, how does a person remove the stress of remembering these
previous failures which continue to torment their lives? We can
take them to the One who is able to forgive and blot out those
memories forever. If they ‘hang around’ in our minds, we will
have potential for remembering the momentary pleasures and
that can cause us to be susceptible to committing them again.
    Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless
    acts I will remember no more.”
    (Hebrews 10:17)

When we read the scripture in Hebrews 10, we can see that the
promise God made to Jacob in the book of Isaiah, is the same
promise He has made to us today. We worship an unchanging
God who does not show favoritism but offers us all the same
opportunities for receiving His redemption and His blessings.

Just as He reminded Jacob that He was the One who redeemed
him, we should have the same remembrance and return to our
redeeming God. Rather than remaining ‘beaten down’ by the
memories of our past sins, we need to recall the time when we
went to God and He redeemed us. When we focus on His goodness
instead of our disappointments, we can discover (or rediscover) the
joy of our salvation.

ACTION:
Question we should consider:
    – How is my memory impacting my life?
    – Am I bogged down with previous sins and how I have offended God,
       or do I believe He has swept away my sins ‘like the morning mist’?

Maybe you cannot recall how He redeemed you, because it hasn’t
happened yet. Don’t allow this separation from God to continue
any longer. Go to Him today; He is waiting for you and is ready
to redeem you too!

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise to redeem
those who come to you. Thank You for giving me a memory
so I can recall the time when You redeemed me. Teach me
to focus on You and Your goodness, instead of allowing my
past sins to have a negative impact on my attitudes and the
happiness I should be enjoying. Help me to realize that my
faith is strengthened by believing that You have redeemed
me. Show me how to serve You, so I can look to the future
with anticipation, instead of being controlled by my past
failures and disappointments. Thank You Jesus for dying
for me on the cross, which made my redemption possible.”

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