Are you avoiding your story? Do you often wish you could escape the past?
One famous Bible character never seemed to escape her story.
I have always found it interesting that Rahab continued to be known as a harlot…a prostitute…a hooker… (Sorry for the crude word, but that probably best captures how she must have been viewed at one point in her life.)
In Hebrews 11, the so-called faith chapter, where God chronicles the examples of superior faith, Rahab is still referred to as “Rahab the prostitute”. (Hebrews 11:31) She apparently never fully escaped the title or the memory of her past.
Perhaps the memory of your past gone wrong…all the painful mistakes, the tragedies, the hurts, the failures… remain for a greater purpose…
- To remind you of who He is and what He has done in your life…
- To remind you to help others that struggle…
- To keep you humble or from becoming conceited…
Instead of trying to run from your past, perhaps you should embrace the changes God has brought in your life through that past and the forgiveness He has provided and allow God to use the memory of your sorrow for His glory.
How are you allowing God to use your mistakes, tragedies, heartache and sorrow for a greater good?
If you need some tips on recovering from your past, read this post HERE.
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Good word picture.
I think avoiding the bad of the past is like mowing over dandelions so neighbors don't see, and shutting the back door as if that makes it easier to forget. Until we do the work to deal with the past (forgiveness, repentance, redemption), the healthy and fruitful garden we were intended to grow spiritually is going to be hindered by our disobedience… Like in Jonah's running for Tarshish.
I always enjoy your posts, Ron!
Thanks!
I’ve found this post very helpful. So often we want to blot out our past altogether and can’t feel free because we’re unable to blot it all out. But to use those painful memories as a chance to remember all that God has transformed and forgiven is to make the hurt into something positive. Thank you for sharing such wisdom.
Thanks Lynne!
Okay. Done feeling sorry.
I feel sorry for the young woman used in the photo portrait in this story…:D
Don’t feel too sorry for her Mrs. W. I purchased most of my photos (except the ones I take) from a stock photo website (this one from iStock), so she got paid to pose for this. Better than Rahab’s profession.
Plus, I think this is to illustrate her sitting in front of her past. Just imagine she got up front these steps, walked down the street and into her new life!