Dr. Bonita M. Smith
Things to Know
As women we must learn to heal from the past of our life in order to obtain the blessings of God in this present and future life. Well-meaning friends may offer you their best unsolicited advice, but their words hurt. Why? The past still haunts you. Are new beginnings possible? Is healing a reality? How do we confidently release the past and embrace the future? How do we find the strength to “press on”?
I’ll be the first to admit that some gut-wrenching issues in my life have taken time and even Christian counseling was needed in order to heal and move forward again. So I’m not offering you “PITTY PAT” answers. Life-altering wrongs committed against us may never be corrected in this lifetime. But what about the times when we’ve wounded others? How can we remove the stamped seal on our souls, or the glaring sins and blunders that have almost destroyed our lives in the past or present? Only God can completely remove those, but here are five ways you can practice to help you find healing from your past. Remember Practice Makes Perfect.. The More you Practice the Better you become and learning how to move from the Past to the Present with God always builds you UP!!
1. See yourself as GOD sees you.
The mistakes and sins of my past no longer exist except as a reminder in my own heart.
2. Place GRACE beside every destructive thought and negative reminder from the past that threatens you.
Satan loves to remind us of our marriage mess-ups, our parenting blunders, our business failures, and our prideful actions of the past. You can keep trying to pay for those yourself, but the reality is, you can never really undo the past. You can only learn from it, and accept God’s grace to move beyond it. It’s God’s grace that erases our past; and it’s God’s grace that will remake our future (Ephesians 2:5-8; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Each time you begin to dwell on your mistakes or sins of the past, visually picture the words GRACE beside those thoughts, pushing the negative ones out. Then whisper a thank you cry to God: “Lord, thank you for your grace that brings healing from my past. Thank you for redeeming me, and for seeing me as if I have always obeyed. Thank you Father that You love me completely and unconditionally.”
3. MEDITATE on the healing truths in God’s Word daily.
God’s Word doesn’t return “void.” In other words, allowing God’s truths and promises to saturate our lives give us the very defense and offensive we need to press on positively to the future which God has prepared for us. God will take those implanted seeds of truth to accomplish His purpose in our lives.
4. Learn to FORGIVE yourself as Jesus forgives you.
If you desire and expect God’s grace and forgiveness to remain active in your life, you must learn to not only forgive others, but also yourself. You’ve heard, “To err is human; to forgive is divine.” I would add, “to not forgive is to trample down God’s grace and render it useless in our lives.” I love Proverbs 24:16 (NLT): The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. Everyone errs. But with God’s grace, we can all start over. Perhaps we could also add, “To err is human, but not to learn from it (our errors), is foolish.” Be patient with yourself. Get an “accountability partner” someone you trust who can check in with you often and help keep you moving in the right direction. You can step in the same hole only so many times. Sooner or later you’ll need to take a new path. Receive God’s infinite, complete forgiveness as a gift; then give Him the gift of belief and trust: that He still has good plans, a hope and a future for you (Jeremiah 29:11).
5. Keep moving FORWARD.
My grandmother used to say, “Have something to do today, something to do tomorrow.” I don’t know about you, but there’s always something to do at my house or in my life, but not always what I anticipate doing. Yet even in the midst of the mundane, it helps to change my outlook by focusing on something I can look forward to today, and something I can look forward to tomorrow. That something is God!!
