Session 6

You can break the cycle of shame and regret

From Finding Freedom from Sin and Shame: A 7-Day Devotional

You’re trying to move on, but you can’t get past the fact you made that mistake. You take one step forward, then two steps back. You try to get past your past, but nothing seems to work.

We’ve all been there, but we don’t have to keep living in the past. Romans 8:1 declares,  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It’s an even more powerful declaration when you realize that Paul, the man who wrote those words, started out killing Christians. 

If anyone knew what it was like to have a past you’re not proud of, it was Paul.

In Acts 7, Stephen, a Christian missionary, was stoned to death. Overseeing the execution was Paul. He went by Saul back then, and he traveled around Rome killing Christians for their beliefs. One day, Jesus appeared to Paul in a vision and changed his heart.

Like Paul, we are free from condemnation because of Jesus. We are free from the sins of our past. We no longer have to live captive to our past, and we can walk freely into our future."

If you don’t let your past die, it will never let you live. You don’t have to walk in guilt and shame. Get past your past. Walk in the freedom that Jesus has given you.

Reflect:

• How has your past affected the way you see yourself today? What are some labels you give yourself based on who you used to be?
• Sometimes condemnation comes from within; sometimes it comes from others. What would it look like today for you to embrace who Jesus says you are, not who others say you are?