Lord, you are my portion
and my cup of blessing;
you hold my future.
The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Psalm 16:5-6 CSB
I’m not proud of a lot in my past, but you know what? My past is what makes me who I am because it defines the boundaries of my life. The enemy tries to use my past to derail my future because he’s absolutely terrified I’ll be unstoppable if I get this right. He’ll use yours against you too. The enemy will want you so focused on yourself and your pain that you can’t begin to be there for someone else. So even though I’m not proud of everything I’ve ever done, I’m incredibly grateful for my life and my inheritance.
Our one job is to possess our land, to own our inheritance, to accept it. Every single, messy inch of it. This means we have to stop hiding from our past. It’s hard to face the past. We all have things we desperately wish weren’t there. But when we surrender our lives to God, He’ll redeem our past for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
I cringe when I recall the life I lived in the decades before I accepted Jesus as my Savior. But I know those days shaped me into the woman I am today. I can easily connect with a woman dealing with infertility because I dealt with it too. It was a hard, hard season in my life, but God got me through, and if I can help even one woman get through it, then the pain and the tears were worth it!
There is nothing on earth you’ve gone through that He doesn’t understand. He knows all about your past and He knows about your future too — the good, the bad, the ugly. Every single bit of your land and life has a purpose. And you can trust Him with all of it.
This excerpt is by Kate Battestelli, published in the (in)courage Devotional Bible. It has been edited from its original form.
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On Saturdays this summer, we’re sharing our favorite Psalms + select devotions from the (in)courage Devotional Bible. We’re loving our summer Saturdays (in) the Psalms with you!
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Hey Kate…thank you for this reminder this morning. I love our Father so very much, but I truly love the way HE uses each of us to talk to another. My past is crazy and it use to eat at me day in and day out, but then I finally learned and saw what a real relationship with Jesus looks like, and HE and I started sharing our days together. That is when I was able to forgive those that had hurt me when I was young, and myself for making so many choices in my life as I grew up that were not who I was. Life is hard, but life is beautiful if we can just realize and understand the depth of God’s love for us, so we can start seeing ourselves in the mirror as the person God is looking at. Thank you for this reminder 🙂 Thank you God for using Kate to remind us 🙂
I feel like I need to read this every day. it’s beautiful. And a big “hello? Are you paying attention??”
Such a great reminder of His love for us no matter our past.
And we all have a past filled with good and bad
Love this.
Thank you for this I too have been going through infertility and it has been one of the darkest seasons of my life…but that thank you for reminding me that God will use this and maybe one day I can help or encourage someone else
Thank you!
Kate, love this. I am so grateful for my past because I wouldn’t have the heart I have now. Satan tries to trip me up, but I know my days are in His Hands & His timing is always on time.
Thank you for this heart reminder. Praising You Adonai for Kates testimony.
I am blessed by the Testimonies. Keep them coming. We overcome by testimonies. Blessings
Kate,
Right there with you about my past. For 7+ months now the devil has tried his best to derail me. I’ve said & thought things I never did before. My mantra, taken from pastor Steven Furtick, is “devil you’ve held me long enough”! I’m taking my life back & giving it over to God. He can & has redeemed my past. My favorite song lately is “Thank you Lord” by Chris Tomlin. Here are the verses that speak to me: Thank You Lord for the hard times For lighting the way in the dark times
For pulling me in, forgiving again The times that I took it too far, I Gotta thank You for keeping me humble
For picking me up when I stumble And although I change, You stay the same And I don’t say thank You enough.
Right now I’m saying Thank you Lord for everything.
Blessings 🙂