Past Reflections

When I look back at my poignant past; days when I was not serving God; the reflections that stand out the most pertain to my feeble efforts in trying to find happiness in material possessions.  These belongings of which I surrounded myself failed to bring contentment and peace of mind. 

The life-changing blessings that I was searching for only come from God.  They were unattainable and out of reach in the venues that I frequented.  I wanted these missing pieces in my life, but failed to realize I was looking wide of the mark to achieve them, because I was looking in all the wrong places, rather than God.

Seek as I may, nothing could quench the thirst for peace, because next-day-regrets always followed the preceding night when I thought I was having fun.  I guess the word ‘seasonal’ sums it up—short lived; nothing lasting; a total downer.

When I reflect on my past, it is not that I am looking back and having desire for events and places that enticed me to sin, but I stand in awe as to the marvelous grace that God imparted to me in 1969 when peace like a river flooded my being the night that God cleansed my soul from sin and made me complete in Him.

Before Christ entered my soul, my fragmented life was restless, unfruitful, and dismal do to the intense value that I placed in my assets and other inconsequential bits and pieces of trivial-mindedness that I thought were important. 

When the past navigates its way to my memory, it is not the same reflections that Lot’s wife may have had when she looked back at the city she and her family were leaving.  I believe her desire for the lifestyle in Sodom was a reason for looking back, which caused her death. 

The story pertaining to God raining fire and brimstone down from heaven to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and the reasons He did so, are found in (Genesis 19:1-29).

Nothing in my past is worth dying for or losing the joy that I now possess through Jesus Christ.  He is my Lord and Savior and I don’t regret a moment giving my heart to Him.

After becoming a Christian, one of my close friends expressed his judgmental opinion to me.  He said, “You’ll be back!  You’ll be doing the things you once did!”  My response was, “I found what I was looking for.  Why would I ever go back?”

The things he was eluding to were momentary pleasures that lacked lasting substance to fulfill and satisfy, whereas, the things of God are lasting and fulfilling.

Sometimes when I pillow my head at night I remember earlier periods in life when it was a struggle to face another day of emptiness and regrets; the same old regrets as the day before.  On occasion, I am aware of tears trickling down each side of my face; tears of joy and wonder, because past reflections remind me of the turmoil that God brought me out of. 

I am thankful and amazed at how God protected me time after time when I trekked through Satan’s thorny fields of wrongdoing and sinful exploits.  These thrill seeking days could have ended in mental and physical ruination had I continued in the death spiral that I was in, but God’s grace prevented this from happening. 

Though I was not serving God, He still loved me anyway, even when I was unlovable.  And because He loved me and didn’t give up on me, I now have hope within.  I can love Him back, because He first loved me and died for me.

(1 John 4:19), “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Jesus loved you and me so much that He paid the ultimate price for our sins; He gave His life on the cross for us.  He suffered the consequences for sin rather than you or me having to do so when our soul leaves the body. 

In that Jesus died and arose from the grave on the third day, we need not fear where our soul will spend eternity as long as we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Heaven is the hope of every Christian; not hell.  Only fools spit in the face of God.

(John 3:16-18), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  vs.17 “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  vs.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

I am no longer ruled by my past, but the reminders of past reflections aide in prompting me to remember that were it not for the Lord, I would be of all men most miserable.  I often ask myself, “Where would I be today had I persisted in rejecting God’s love through my rebellion against Him?”  The answer is simple—lost.

The hostility that encompassed me was divergent to God and the things of God.  There is no doubt in my mind that had I not made the decision to follow Christ, my state of affairs would be appalling.  

I cannot fathom, for the life of me, why God still loved this badly-behaved soul the times that I spurned His attempts to love me.  But He did!  He was always at the ready to show mercy, which He did!

One day I tried counting the many times that God intervened on my behalf and how things could have gone south, but didn’t.  The number of interventions I remembered boggled my mind.  I believe that had I remained in the devil’s play yard, I would either be dead or in jail, but God’s protection surrounded me, because I had a praying mother and father that cried out to God for their wayward son.

Perhaps you too may be reflecting on past incidents where things could have gone badly, but for some reason didn’t.  I believe that Jesus was praying for you, because His love is never ending; God honored His prayers concerning your situations.  God wants you to experience total freedom; being set free from the bondage of sin.  This happens when you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

All you need to do is believe that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.  By yielding to the Holy Spirit that is tugging at your heart, when you accept God’s gift, His Son, you become a child of God.  Today is the day that liberty can be yours when you give your heart to Him.  Don’t wait another minute.

Tell God that you are sorry for your sins and then believe that He forgives you.  You are now Born-again; it is that easy.  You have a new life where old things passed away and all things became new.  It is a new beginning like being born again.  You are now part of the family of God!  Wow!  You did it!  Or I should say, “He did it!”

No longer do bad choices rule your life when you searched here and there for happiness and contentment.  You have found the peace that passes all understanding.  God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit now abide in your soul.  You are a new creation in Christ.

(2 Corinthians 5:17), “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Past reflections of days that Satan stole from you will seem trite and insignificant in comparison to the love and peace that you are experiencing in Christ, because you now have purpose and hope within.  God will exceed all of your expectations, because He is your Father in heaven.

(Ephesians 3:20-21), “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”  vs.21 “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.

Written by,

Papa Boyd