Empowering Lives with Purpose

Surrender Your Past

Taken from Surrendered: Yielded With Purpose

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 NIV)

When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are a new creation. God’s love for you never ends. Your past does not matter. Whether you were a liar, a prostitute, an addict, a thief, or filled with unforgiveness and disobedience to God and His Word, God says He will forgive you and remember your sins no more.

Letting go of our past can be very difficult. Holding on to guilt and shame because of a past mistake by you or someone close to you could rob you of your beautiful present life and the fantastic future God wants for you. The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy and wants nothing more than to throw all your past mistakes in your face. An unreleased painful past can put you into a vice that slowly squeezes the life out of you. God does not want that, but the enemy of your soul does. He wants every extremity and internal organ to die. That way, you will no longer be a threat to him. Surrendering your past to God and blossoming into a purpose allows Him to freely use you as the masterpiece He created you to be. He wants to do something new in your life! God will use you to bring glory to Himself and bring others to His Kingdom.

Walk faithfully with the Lord and put the past behind you in full surrender to God. As you do, keep in mind that God is at work in your life even when you do not see it, feel it, or think it. With Christ’s power, put on a new mindset, and don’t look back. Allow the inner peace you desperately desire begin to flow. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Understand that mistakes may still happen, but we can use them as opportunities for growth. This idea may be difficult and challenging for some, but God will help you make stronger and wiser choices as you ask Him for help each day.

When you wake up each morning, look at that new day as a new start. You are blossoming as a child of the king today. Work heavily on putting your past behind you and look to God from the moment your eyes open, not allowing anything to hinder your relationship with the Lord as you enter the new day. Your attitude must be one of looking to God to guide you, strengthen you, and equip you as you walk in the newness of life He has for you.

If you feel yourself slipping, remind yourself of your full surrender. You are NOT to look back; spring forward because you have already given your past to God. Look ahead and read scripture to strengthen you. Ask the Holy Spirit within you to refresh your thoughts.

Instead, let the spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (Ephesians 4:23–24 NLT)

You must understand that God can work even through the bad situations in your life, bringing good out of it all. That may seem unimaginable when you begin this process of release to God, but the good yet to come is a promise from His Word. God wants your thoughts, actions, and words from the past that still haunt you. He wants all of it surrendered to Him so that He can be God and work them out for His glory and your good. Your past does not define you; God says who you are in Christ.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)

God has a plan for your life; trust Him with it. Let go and behold, He is doing something new with YOU.

Kimberly Hobbs

Founder & co-CEO

kimberly@womenworldleaders.com

Ephesians 3:20