Reflections4Life February 23, 2014
“It’s Time to Let it Go”
“If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Ephesians 4:21-24 (NASB)
Scripture Contemplation: Jeremiah 17; 33; Romans 12; Ephesians 4; Romans 8; 1 Peter 1; James 4…
Did you ever own a favorite article of clothing that you just couldn’t seem to part with? It wasn’t that the clothing itself was in fashion, or looked good on you, but it was tied to a memory; to an experience, that whenever you held this article of clothing it reminded of you of that time long ago.
We have a way of holding onto things from our past; be it an article of clothing, furniture, a keepsake, a memory, a way of thinking or behavior. Because we are not letting go, it is interfering with our present and our future. It’s time to let it go. It’s time to say goodbye to our old ways, and embrace what God has for us now.
I declare and decree that this week’s Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement for your heart, mind, and soul. There is much that God desires to bring to pass in your life. Let this be the week that you release it all into the hands of God and trust Him with your now, and with your tomorrows.
As long as you hold on to what was, you will not be able to receive what God has for you now. So many of us are trapped in our past. We are trapped in a realm of hurt, pain, disappointments, and we have become stuck, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and even physically.
The truth of it is, many of us have been accustomed to a certain way of life. The enemy has convinced many that we are not worthy of the promises of God. We allowed the whispers of the enemy to take space in our minds, and take root in our hearts until we now believe his lies. By believing those lies, we sabotage our lives. We inhibit the Father from manifesting His blessings in our lives as He desires.
I am convinced that many people have a relationship with their past just as a victim of abuse has with their abuser. Many victims of abuse; especially domestic violence, have been abused in such a way that they start to believe that the abuse is their fault. Many ask the question as to why a person that is being abused just doesn’t leave the relationship. Why would anyone stay in a relationship that is so evidently toxic and painful?
What many feel to understand is that the abuser has slowly but steadily torn down the defenses and self-esteem of their victim. They have isolated them, stripped them of their voice, and work continually at manipulating them and those around them. It is the threats and whispers and the isolation that the victim succumbs to; giving up their will to fight; eventually believing that they are getting what they deserve, and are unworthy of anything or anyone better.
That is how it is with Satan. He is an abuser of our mind and soul. He tries to rape us daily with his lies, leaving us vulnerable, violated and without trust. He will use our past against us to try and keep us bound and from moving forward in the Lord. He will remind us of two things consistently: 1. who we were, and 2. what we did.
He will whisper lies and tells us that we are not worthy. He will remind us everything we ever did wrong, and plant seeds of doubt that God could never and would never use us. And if he cannot get you with that, he will try another scenario by making you long for your past. He will repeatedly bring pictures to your mind, people in your presence, to remind you of the sin which made you feel good at the time. That sin that made you forget about God and about responsibility. He will even try and convince you that you were better off without knowing God.
Here’s the real truth of the matter: If your past was so good to you; if your past held all the answers, then you would not have sought out God for His redemption and deliverance. Too many of us keep looking back. We know what we went through. We know the experiences we endured. We know what life was like; what our hearts were like without the Holy Spirit. Yet, we return to our past like a dog to its vomit. And we begin the torturous cycle all over again. Only this time, it is worse than before, because we have tasted and now know the goodness of our Lord.
Just as some victims return to their abuser, many of us will turn to our past. Why? Because it’s familiar. It’s what we know. It’s what we understand. Our minds have not been renewed or transformed. We allow the lies of the enemy to take root in our hearts and grow bitter and poisonous fruit in our lives. The fruit has grown with thorns; thorns that prick us, choke the good fruit, make us bleed, and cause us to hurt others in our lives.
We do not understand our worth and the abundance that God has for us because we are too busy holding on to memories and experiences of the past. We judge everything we do now by what our life was like before. We judge others based upon what we or others did to us in the past. We hold onto things and ways and thoughts, not because they are right, but because they are familiar, and we are comfortable with the dysfunction and disorder.
Everything we have done and have learned and have experienced before knowing Christ is corrupt. It must be filtered through the Holy Spirit, cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. God cannot pour into us all that He has ordained when we are filled with poisonous toxins from a life that was corrupt, filled with sin and deceit. In order to walk in the newness of Christ, then we must be willing to surrender all and lay down everything at the altar of God; putting the old man to death.
Our minds must be changed and renewed. For it is in the mind that it all begins. Whatever we think upon will eventually come to pass in our lives. It tells us in Isaiah that he who keeps his mind on Christ (on the things of God) will be kept in perfect peace. Make no mistake: the carnal mind will always be against the Spirit. And until we yield completely, the enemy will take full advantage of his favorite place to reside: in the mind of man, which leads to the heart and actions of man.
Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.”
Do not forfeit what God has for you now and in the future because you are comfortable with your past, or afraid of change and becoming the person God has called you to be. Let those things go! Release it to God. You cannot come to the throne with closed fists and a closed heart expecting Him to fill you. You cannot walk in the abundance of God and in His knowledge and wisdom with the mind of your past. It must be renewed and transformed each and every day.
I decree that the spirit of peace and prosperity has found permanent rest in your lives. Surrender it all to God. Every thought, every memory, every keepsake, every sin. Allow Holy Spirit to breathe into you and place in your heart the very thing that God has ordained for you. Don’t give the enemy any more room to rent in your mind and heart. Present him with his eviction notice, and Jesus shows him the door. He’s been trespassing way, too, long! You are deserving of God’s best. You are Blessed. Now go…and Be a Blessing!
©2014. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.
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