By Jordy van Gaalen & Payton DeVencenty

Freedom from the Past

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this Soundcloud link

Welcome to today’s devotion, a collaboration between Jordy van Gaalen and Payton DeVencenty. We are excited to have you join us as we dive into the questions we might be afraid to ask and the grace Jesus has to offer.

Jesus…There’s so much I wish I could rewrite in my past. There are words I’ve left unsaid, actions I wish I could take back, pain that I can’t seem to remove. There’s moments that those events still haunt me. How do I heal and move on without this shadow looming over me?

The past. The past has ruled over more of my beloved than you could know. Sin, hurt, mistakes and uncontrollable events have tormented those I love…sometimes for their entire lives. Do you know how I long to set you free from those feelings? From those memories? Do you see how I desire to set you into a new life? 

Could you tell me something? Could you tell me about what this “looming shadow” feels like…what does it tell you?

The shadow continues to pull me back into the pain. It recounts to me that which I wish to forget. I feel that I am small and unworthy, that I’m not enough for the future I pursue. 

All of heaven rages at what Satan does to you through your regrets. All the pain, all the worthlessness, all the doubts of your viability to be a force for the Kingdom on earth stems from the enemy. I, yes I, the Savior of the world, came so that you would be set free from the death that sin injects into everything. Paul, one of a multitude of faithful servants, put it this way: 

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Galatians 2:20-21 English Standard Version

You are set free. You are not living this life on your own. You have me, yes, Me! I live in you and with you and through you. No regret is too big for me, no past is too dark, no sin too deep for me to redeem and make beautiful.

Jesus, thank you for the freedom you have graciously given. Thank you for bearing the weight of my past, my regrets, and my sin. Thank you for your redemption and the grace you pour over me.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran, Colorado Springs