Ridgell's Originals

 You have got a past.

But you have dealt with it and are forgiven.

You are living out that forgiveness.

So let me suggest three ways you can use your past to serve God.

Your past keeps you focused on your present.  You are alert to temptation.  You are aware of where, when, and how you are vulnerable.  You are on your guard.  You have a built in warning system if you start to become complacent.  And knowing how much God has forgiven in you makes it so much easier to live in praise.  Easier to declare the praises of God.  Easier to stay in the light.   

Your past is part of your tool kit for helping others.  You know the temptations.  You know the damage of your sin.  You also know the power of confession and the freedom of repentance.  You know lives can change.  This is powerful as a parent.  It is powerful as a spiritual shepherd.  You remember when you were trying to get thru what is now past, it was easy to believe no one had ever messed up as bad as you.  No one had ever survived a mess like you have made.  People still feel that way in the midst of their battle.  You can speak truth into lives because you know what it is like and you made it.

Because you are living proof that their is forgiveness and restoration.  There is power in knowing someone else has been there and survived.  And over time, not just survived but thrived.

Sober alcoholics.  Marriages that made it.  Restored families.  

The power of living proof.

Living forgiven is powerful for you.  And powerful for others.

So tell your story.  No one needs to know all the details.  But maybe it does help not just to be aware of the sober alcoholic, but to actually know the sober alcoholic.  To know the married couple that made it.  To see the proof of God's forgiveness in action.

Use your past to God's glory.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM