Who's That Girl?
God Can Use Your Past Failures
My mother recently gave me an old family chest filled with items from my childhood. As I was digging through its relics, I came across a photo from my senior year in 1988. There I was, in all my glory, wearing a totally rad braided headband on my forehead, the sparkle in my eyes, enhanced by my bright blue eyeliner. Gasp! Was this even me? The fashion choices for my senior photos had me laughing and wondering, “What was I thinking?”
We can probably all find humor about a bad fashion choice that we made in our past, but it’s the bad life choices we’ve made in different seasons of our lives that can be no laughing matter. When I think back on my life since 1988, I have made many mistakes and bad decisions. When I reflect on those times, I am again left wondering, “What was I thinking?”
One of the most effective ways that Satan makes us doubt ourselves is by reminding us of past failures. He wants nothing more than for us to dwell on our past mistakes and begin to believe the lie that our identity is rooted in who we were.
God knew all along that we are going to stumble and fall, and He is with us in our failures, just as He is with us in our successes. As we crest the hills of our lives, God doesn’t want us to look back at the valleys and wonder, “What was I thinking?” Instead, He wants us to ask ourselves, “What has God delivered me from?”
When we adopt this new paradigm, we begin to see the messes and missteps behind us as experiences that can be used to serve others and offer praise to God. God can use our sinfulness, rebellion, and even the reckless days of our youth as a platform on which to display his grace, forgiveness, and love.
God’s word says that when we come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, we are new creations. The old has gone, the new is here! When we continue to let our minds dwell on the errors of our past, we can’t live in the newness of life God has so graciously given us.
Just like I wouldn’t wear outdated styles of yesteryear, I shouldn’t wear the sins of yesterday as identifiers of who I am today. I am thankful that those silly-looking ‘80s headbands are no longer in fashion and I am even more grateful that some hard seasons in my life have passed. But I know that I wouldn’t be who I am today without those failures and mistakes that led me to my knees before a forgiving God. He has used each of them to transform me and to exhibit the vastness of His mercy and grace for a sinner like me.
Reflection
What are some of the ways that Satan reminds you of past mistakes? How do you combat these negative thoughts and feelings?
How has God called you to use your past failures to encourage or minister to other women?
Is there a particular failure or mistake in your past that you are still struggling to overcome? What steps can you take today to find peace with your past?
Goals
Pray and ask God to show you 3 ways that you can share your story of God’s victory over past sin in your life.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.
(Psalm 25:7 NLT)
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. (Isaiah 43:18 NIV)