How to Deal with the Past Biblically Part Three
October 28, 2009
For this third post in our series, we will shift gears from discussing times in our past that we were guilty to times in our past the we are, as far as we can tell, innocent. There are two types of situations that people typically deal with when struggling with "innocent" issues in their past: 1. Times when a person has directly sinned against you and 2. Times of trial due to living in a fallen world.
When you have been directly sinned against, this is often the most difficult. God created us to live in communities such as families and churches and when the trust of those communities is broken it hurts us deeply. And then when you factor in our individualistic culture which tells us that we are often justified in harboring bitterness or withholding forgiveness when it is asked of us in such situations, it makes it even more difficult.
Hear me on this, Christian:
God never brings sinful choices of others to bear upon so that you will be crushed and defeated! He only brings them upon you so that you can bring His Kingdom of grace, love, and truth into this dark kingdom of lies, guilt, bitterness, and shame. When you excercise His grace to those around you, you become more like His Son and His Son is more glorified in the lives of those around you.
So, how does this work? How do we do it? Once again, a teaching outline from Faith Baptist Church is very helpful. Follow the thought process step by step and ask the Lord for the grace to live as a citizen of His Kingdom in this fallen world.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32
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