I know there is something in your past that hurts. I know there is something there that you can't seem to forget about or forgive yourself for. I know sometimes these memories can come up at the most inconvenient moments and the lies of Satan will tell you that your worth is compromised because of those brief moments of time in that past. I know it feels like moving forward isn't even possible, that this will stick with you and will make sure you don't get too far before it knocks you down again. I know.

But, see, the past is just that. Past. Gone. It's a page in a book that is about to get better. You can be the main character of that book who overcomes and rises above, you can be a hero in your story, saving yourself from your past self. That past you is not the you you are now. We all know how much changes. We have seen others, ourselves, even almost-strangers as they've changed in small ways and in drastic ones.

The past has played a part in shaping who you are, by growing you and changing you, but it doesn't have to define you. The only way the past can define you now is if you let it consume your day-to-day life. If your thoughts are constantly on past failures, rough experiences, mistakes and pains, it is hard--if not impossible--to move forward. You have the power over letting go of it and of reminding yourself that you were made for more.

There is a verse that I adore in Isaiah that says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:18-19). Our God is a God of grace, of forgiveness, of compassion, of redemption.

Our tendency is to carry shame as though God hasn't conquered all. As though victory hasn't already been won. To live as though we have no hope.