Let Go of the Past. Be Yourself.

Doing a devotion is so awesome! God just totally puts the right thing in your face at the right time. His timing is beyond amazing!

I read both Abundant Life and Jesus Calling today, and I am just blown away.

Lately I've been non intentionally beating myself up in a sense for my past and my mistakes. I've definitely come a long way in a short amount of time. I don't need to tell what I've done or why I did things because that would only defeat the purpose. It would only be a source of gossip to many who read it. It doesn't matter how bad or not bad or how big or small any of my mistakes are. Mistakes are mistakes. Here I am today because of learning from them and turning to God. Or rather God showing me at the right time and place where to go from there.

I know I kind of worded that like I committed some terrible crime, but no worries I've done nothing of the sort. Just personal mistakes, that is all.

I know that everyone has made mistakes that they are ashamed of. And it does not matter what they are, God will never let go of you. You can change. You can become a new person. You can start over. GOD GIVES SECOND CHANCES!!! You can't get second chances anywhere else. You can't get second chances or make it better and go away by drinking. You can't make it go away with drugs. You can't make it go away by physically abusing yourself or someone else. You can't make it go away by getting addicted to something whether it be an action or substance or other thing. You cannot make it go away with anything on this earth. It just isn't possible. God, however, can make it go away. He can't change the past, but He can make it better. He can give you a new day and a new breathe and new opportunities. God is the only exit from the old life, mistakes, etc, and He is the only entrance to a new life with Him. A prosperous blessed life.

You cannot continue judging yourself for what you've done. That gets you no where. It either puts you in the dumps, or it puts you on a pedestal, thinking that you are better than everyone else. On that note, pride is wrong. 

Psalm 42:5 MSG

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?

    Why are you crying the blues?

Fix my eyes on God—

    soon I’ll be praising again.

He puts a smile on my face.

    He’s my God.

God wants to take you on a path, a journey, that is specifically for you. He made it JUST FOR YOU and no one else! It will not be the same as anyone else. It may cross over and go with someone else for a while, but your path is a gift from God. Special for you. You are special. You cannot look to other people to make you happy or to know what to do. You cannot put your hope in the opinions of others. Go out on a limb. Be yourself for a change! Be who God wants you to be! He is the only true source of our full happiness. Don't look at Him in a way that you think He is negatively judging you for your actions, looking for and picking out what you've done wrong. It isn't like that. He sent His son, Jesus, to die for you. He saved you from your sins. You are saved. He forgives. He gives second chances. He does what He does because it is best for you. 

John 3:16-17 NLT

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Proverbs 3:11-12 NLT

My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,

    and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

For the Lord corrects those he loves,

    just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Both Jesus Calling and Abundant Life showed me today that it's okay. It's going to be okay. It is okay. All is okay. God has got my back. And I know that with all my heart. That's how I keep moving on. He provides and I go. 

Matthew 7:13-14 says "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

I know it's easier to do what everyone else is doing. I get it. Most humans feel better and more comfortable in a group and being a part of that group and accepted and to do what they do. That's not how it works with God. He is bigger than that. He doesn't care about the majority. People who live by the majority are living wrong. They don't get it. They don't know God. They haven't given Him a chance to lead their life. They don't know what makes life worth living. They will end in a disastrous way. You don't have to go down that road. Turn to God with your problems. "I have decided to follow Jesus. Though none go with me, I still will follow." That has to be you. You have to stand up for you first. Put God first. Make Him your priority. He will be with you. You have to identify with Him. Not with a certain group of people or thing. He will give you the strength to stand alone. Just ask. Simply ask. He will lead you on a path of greatness. He will lead you to Him. You have to learn to go against what the world thinks and wants. You have to "take up your cross and follow Him."