We all have scars. They can come in many forms, not only the visible remembrances of an injury or a surgery. Other scars are emotional, unseen wounds, that even when explained appear too minor to be considered tragic. A scar can be a tattoo permanently drawn into your skin, a hole created by a piercing, or signs of early aging from long-term substance abuse. Some are regrets that we carry, memories of actions that we would take back if only we could, regrets of pain we have caused others. Forgiveness we desire from those who will not be able to give it on their own accord. The pains of a former life lived in drug addiction or abuse.
The tragedy of our scars is not what they represent about our past, but what they can do to our future. Too many of us have allowed our scars, our past, to define who we are today, and where we will go tomorrow. We have allowed our scars to tell us that we don’t belong here or there, that we can’t do this or that, or we will never be anything else. They tell us that we have already determined our fate in life, and that there is no going back, that scars remain forever. We have let our past, our scars, define who we are.
Like the smell of a skunk’s spray weeks after the unfortunate encounter, it is true that our scars can linger, they can stay with us. Even when we are in the midst of a time of peace and joy, the past can sneak up on us in the most unlikely places and methods, reminding us of who we are, telling us we will never escape the reality we created in years past. But that is a lie, because the past is nothing, it is gone. Below are some Biblical ways to overcome the past and discover a new path forward.
- Do not let your scars keep you from seeking, finding, and keeping God in your heart.
- God loves you. Yes, you! He loves you in the same way He loves me, just as much as He loves the little old lady from church who prays to Him every day. Believe that, because it is true. You may not have accepted Him, but He is waiting for you. Do not think for a moment that you couldn’t possibly turn to God, for any reason. Maybe you think the people around you would not agree, or the tattoos you have are evil, or your job is in a sinful industry. That is not your concern when it comes to you and God. These things are of the world, and when you hear people say to “come as you are,” that is exactly what it means. You don’t have to change anything in your life to kneel down and pray to God for the first time. He understands where you are, where you came from, and why. Jesus Christ walked the earth, and one of the reasons He did so was to ensure us that He is sympathetic to our struggle in this world, a struggle that has put us all in the same boat. Rich or poor, black or white, east or west, we are all sinners of equal magnitude in His sight. What is required of you is that you seek Him, and He will guide you into a relationship with Him, a relationship that will change your life.
- Do not let your scars continue to define who you are today
- Regret is a powerful and potentially life changing emotion. In the feeling of regret we know we have done wrong, we know we would not want to do it again, and we know we want to change. Does not regret call us to change? But so often we regress back to where we were before the regret, to try it again, hoping for a different, better, more acceptable outcome. Tomorrow is a new day, and yesterday is gone forever. The Bible tells us all we have is this day, this moment. Use it, right now, to start change in your life.
- Remove from your life those things, or people, that encourage your embracing of the past
- This is true for most of us who have experienced addiction. If we continue to surround ourselves with the same people who enable us to continue using alcohol, drugs, or sex, then we can not escape the hold it has on us. I know people who have left town, literally moved, in order to get clean. Our environments, acquaintances, and routines can discourage change, even if we are in toxic situations. We find we can not escape, it just won’t let us. It is hard to move on, to reject relationships with others who do not see the errors of their ways. Many times they are in as much pain as we are, and we bring comfort to each other through our toxic behavior. But it is a reality we must face, and a difficult decision we must take. In the end, both parties could be saved, but someone has to have the courage to act first, regardless of the pain it may cause.
- A child does not let the use diapers in the past determine how they use the bathroom in the future
- You were young once. Inexperienced, under the influence of others (others who may not have been godly, nonetheless kind), looking for adventure, pushing limits, learning, discovering, and making mistakes along the way. It’s OK, it is called life. But we grow, do we not? We gain experience and knowledge. The very essence of these insights is the encouragement to use them to build a better life. To use our past mistakes to make better decisions.
- Let your scars be something you have to offer for good, not for continuing in the darkness they created
- Pain and damage can be hard to overcome. One way to conquer our scars is to use them for good. Your experiences were real, and there is wisdom to be gotten through them. Sharing your experiences with others who are struggling in the same way you have, like addiction, or serving those who are in positions you have overcome, like homelessness, are powerfully encouraging to others. And when you do these things through our Lord Jesus, they are anointed and used to change lives. Lay down your scars at the foot of the cross and let the Lord use them for His kingdom. But first, you must surrender to Him, giving Him your life, your past, and your future. Your scars don’t have to be for you to keep, you can give them to God, and He will take those burdens from you.
Let’s look at the scars of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Physically He was cut and pierced, leaving scars on His back, in His side, on His head, and on His hands and feet. Emotionally He was humiliated, ridiculed, threatened, falsely accused, and denied. Socially He was isolated, rejected, and sorrowful. He was mocked by the religious elite, and abandoned as a fraud by the rest of His people. On a worldly level, the mental and physical turmoil Jesus experienced would be detrimental to the future of most of us. If we had survived, we never would have recovered, never again feeling worthy or fully accepted. But it is not men and women who we seek to be accepted by, for you can see what the results of those relationships are. Our calling, your calling, is to seek God, His favor, His love, and His grace. When you can see that, the scars on your body, the emotional damage and humiliation you suffered, the addictions that have controlled and defined you, the tattoos that represent former desires and attitudes, will mean nothing under the awesomeness and holiness of the love and the future God has for you.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our Savior. He died and was risen in victory to break the hold this world has on you and to give you the opportunity to be reunited with God, your Creator! Look at this world and consider how it leads you, where it leads you, and what it leads you to. You must be able to see the futility of pursuing desires that can not be quenched. Who of you has ever drank enough alcohol to bring lasting peace? Who has consumed enough cocaine or marijuana to achieve newness? Who of you has had enough sex to be satisfied for any length of time? Who has enough toys, games, cars, square footage, or online friends to fill the hole in your heart?
Have you considered God? Have you considered the historical, proven truth of Jesus Christ and what that might mean in your life? Have you considered to break away from days already gone, and look forward to the new?
Isaiah 51
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You
Zechariah 1
3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. 4 “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.
Joel 2
12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
Jeremiah 30
16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a prey.
17 For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.”
Isaiah 1
16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah 9:2
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
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