Ever had a memory just pop into your mind from years ago? A memory that only brought pain and hurt and you wonder why now? Well I have, and I seriously believed it had been put to bed, so to speak, a long time ago. It stopped me dead in my tracks. Buried feelings rose to the top and threatened to overwhelm me, but I was in the grocery store. I couldn’t allow this to happen. They would be calling someone to come take me away. I knew I had to get out of the store. Leaving my buggy, I made a bee line for the door and then my car.
Once inside my car the dam burst, and I sat there with my face in my hands sobbing. Finally, I was able to stop crying and was very grateful my roommate would not be home when I got there. I remembered I had been a little edgy lately and not sleeping well. My mind would try to take me back to that time, but I would fight it! Well today it had won. Entering my apartment, I sat down in the darkness and quiet.
Then I remembered a sermon I had heard that week on letting go of your past and forgiving yourself. The pastor clearly used Scripture pointing you to Jesus and freedom. He pointed out how we stay in bondage and often don’t even realize it although we have sincerely accepted Jesus. He went on to say God will bring something to mind, over and over if necessary, attempting to get you to acknowledge it, face it, and walk through it with Him to freedom. Not that it didn’t happen, but giving it God. God would replace the pain with Himself and those chains would fall off and it would no longer have a hold on you or stand between you and your relationships. Even your relationship with Him!
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4 NIV
I slipped down off the couch and onto my knees and cried out to God. I thanked Him for not letting me push this down again but to bring to Him, give it to Him, and allow His healing to take place in my life. When I got up I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Truthfully it had. I had been carrying this hurt for a long time. Now I was walking in freedom because of God’s love. Is it still a part of my past? You bet, but it no longer defines who I am. Did Satan try to use it against me again? Yes, but with the truth of God’s Word he couldn’t put those chains back on me! You see, it didn’t win. I now realized I had won. Because of God’s grace I was victorious!
Do you hear even the slightest rattling from your past? Is a memory coming back over and over that hurt or damaged you? As God’s child, take it that He is calling you to be free of the chains that bind you. Are you in need of inner rest? In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says “Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”
Father, thank you for Your faithfulness to us as your children. Your salvation is the door we must walk through first. Let us remember and be reminded we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. Help us to walk in freedom in You every day. When your love for us brings to mind over and over a chain rattling memory, help us to recognize it is You calling us to be free of it. Give us the courage to face it with You, because that is the only way for us to be victors. Amen.
Blessings,
The WM Team
Red Bank Baptist Women's Ministry 