“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
A story has been told many times about twin boys who were raised by an alcoholic father. When the boys grew into men, they took different paths in life. One of the young men grew up and became an alcoholic. When he was asked why this happened to him, his response was, “I watched my father.” The other young man grew up and never drank alcohol. When he was asked why, his response was, “I watched my father.”
Both of these young men grew up with the same father but had very different outcomes in life.
It is a beautiful offering to the souls who love Jesus that no matter where they come from in life, redemption is available to them.
The world around us is in a state of brokenness. Broken homes, broken dreams, broken hearts, broken relationships, and more. There is no perfection in the human race, and the imperfections are revealed through abuse, addiction, and an entire list of the works of the flesh. While some people have a strong enough desire to fight against their circumstances, a large percentage of others follow in the same paths of brokenness they’ve experienced in the past years of their lives.
Friends, there is hope for every one of us, no matter what we learned or dealt with in our pasts! The love of God and His precious blood still have enough power to create a new future, even for those who aren’t strong enough on their own to conquer their pasts! If this were not true, God would not be God and hope would not be hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 speaks of one of God’s attributes: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” The world around us will dictate our plans through its broken state, but the power of God cannot be bound by any earthly means.
The Word of God reminds us in Romans 8:38, “…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” How is that possible? Because He has overcome the world!
The Bible gives us great words of wisdom, such as in Colossians 3:2, which says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” We don’t need to look at our circumstances and surrender to the idea that things will follow what we’ve already known. We must look to Jesus and learn of His ways. We must let the Spirit of God lead us to new territories that we did not know about before new life was ours to claim. Philippians 4:13 leaves no room for guessing. It tells us that “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
We are so blessed to know that Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost, with a mission of redemption for those lost in sin. He looks forward to offering us healing, hope, and salvation in place of pain, sorrow, and defeat.
When our past tries to hinder us, let us remember the promises of God, who still brings victory for His children time and time again!
