“PRISON BREAK” It does not matter how much a man has risen, one thing that may creep in, overtake and imprison him is his past, if he hasn’t completely overcome it. One’s past, especially where abuse or rejection was suffered, could increase anger, anxiety, depression, sadness and other forms of imprisonments. It erodes your sense of self-esteem and shrinks your sense of self-worth. Ostracized people sometimes become aggressive and can turn into violence. It could lead to people becoming overwhelmed by sense of insecurity, and lead to a burnout while making attempt to be accepted. They make excessive demand on themselves and pressurize themselves into undue sacrifice, unwarranted concessions and go any length to “satisfy” others. One of the biblical characters locked up in the prison of his past, despite risen so prominently, was Jephthah. He had been rejected by his people because his mother was a harlot; the rejection drove him so much he would give up on anything to be accepted. Even his relationship with God was apparently affected by the same psychological imprisonment. He couldn’t see himself worthy or deserving anything worthwhile from God for which he hadn’t paid a “satisfactory” price. When called upon to lead Israel into a battle, “Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, ‘if You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace…I will offer it up as a burnt offering.’” (Judges 11:30-31 NKJV). The Lord indeed delivered the enemies into his hands, but on his return, it was his daughter, his only child, that came to meet him! What a colossal price to pay! The innocent girl had to be painfully sacrificed! What a life-imprisonment he sentenced himself into! If you fail to break out of the prison of your past, the losses to suffer may be incalculable! To break out, these are some of the things to do: (1) Reset your identity, or you end up a nonentity! You are not what people or situations say you are. You could have failed before; you are not necessarily a failure. The mistake you made does not make you a mistake. Your true identity is in God and His word, if you don’t know who you are; people will describe you from who they are. Evil people will see you from their evil eyes. Haters will treat you with hatred. Envious people will describe you enviously. So, know who you are in God. (2) Let go, or you’ll go down! Forgive people, and forgive yourself also, or you will be stuck forever. It may be a hard thing to do, but is the only productive thing to do. (3) Move on, or you’ll be mauled down! You can’t do anything about what had happened. You don’t have to denied it either, but can move on in spite of it. Learn from it, and put it behind you. Your past will attempt to employ you to prosecute, convict and imprison yourself, if you let it. Will you? Prayer: Dear Father, I declare that I am who Your word says I am. My past is too irrelevant to define me. My unpleasant situations are too flimsy to describe me. I forgive people and myself as well. There is no place for hurt and bitterness in my heart. I break free from the prison of my past. I am moving from glory to glory by the Spirit of God, in Jesus name. Amen. (Kindly share the daily Empowerment Devotional)
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 10:14:31 +0000
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