Past Mistakes < Now, God?

[mmb18]

Hello everyone.

I suppose I have never made any mistake as drastic as drugs or murder, but to me, the mistakes I have made in the past remain significant.

For example, in High School, I skipped a class and was fortunate enough to where my counselor knew that it was a one-time thing. I promised her it would never happen again, and it never did because I realized the error in my mistake. To this day, I still hold on to that. I cannot move past it. There are also a few personal things I would rather not mention, but it's common. Also, it seems that every little thing I had done whether it be ten years ago or a month ago keeps crawling back into my brain. I don't know why this is happening.

A month or so ago I began studying the Bible using the YouVersion app and following their study tools. I took my own personal notes and shared them with one of my friends who has been a Christian her whole life. She said my notes were outstanding for just starting. I, however, have not. My parents both believe in Christ, but when I grew up, we never went to church, nor did they teach me about God. I'm not calling them bad parents, by the way. Anyway, as I began to take on this independent study, it began right around the time my anxiety of the past grew. To me, the more I read about the Word and tried to connect with God, the less anxiety I had, and it seemed my life had gotten better in a sense.

I have been quite busy the last two weeks with a birthday, work and college related things. In my opinion, because I have been away from the Bible for so long and from my studies, it appears that my life has fallen all the way back down to where I started again. My anxiety is back, I'm making stupid mistakes at my job that I ordinarily would not do, and all the mistakes continue to cloud my mind. Maybe this is just me being paranoid, but I don't know.

What I'm trying to ask here for is if it's possible that God is trying to make me realize that the past was awful without Him, but the more that I focus on Him, it can get better. Is it?

As I'm going to try and continue to grow with God, I still need helping moving on from the past. And the mistakes I've been making the past few nights at work? They're so embarrassing. I honestly think I'm the worst one there some nights.

So there it is! That's what I've been struggling with. Please let me know what you think or if you have any scriptures you think could be helpful. It would be wonderful.

Thank you.

[jayne]

Hi, mmb18.

You say in your profile that you are not saved, but are seeking Christ. Seeking is good. It's moving in the right direction. And yet, it's not quite the goal.

Everyone has a "past" that they don't like to think about. Our pasts can bring shame, despair, anxiety, discouragement, and an unfruitful guilt. You ask if focusing on God would be better. Well, yes and no. As with seeking Christ, it's a good start, but not the goal.

There were lots of people in the Bible who weren't happy with their past and yet, knew who God was and even "focused" on him, but in the end - they had no relationship with God. Ergo, some people with a past in the Bible allowed God to change them and they moved on.

Here are some examples:

• King Saul was out of God's will, sorry even for "some" of the things he had done and knew God wanted something else from him - obedience. King Saul turned to a witch for help. She, of course, could do nothing for him. He died the next day.
• Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ for silver coins. He was horrified over what he did, but did not have a repentant heart. He had a worldly guilty conscience, but not a spiritual hatred of his sins. He never went to God for salvation. He just tried to give the money back. He killed himself.

• King David raided, murdered, never made his children get under control, and committed blatant adultery. His own past made him sick enough to write Psalm 51 and 33. He repented before God and as far as we know never committed those sins again.
• The woman at the well had had 5 husbands and was shacked up with a 6th man. Christ Jesus told her of her sin and she recognized her need to repent and turn to him as Lord and Savior. She ended up bringing a whole town to him.
• The prostitute, Rahab, recognized God as Sovereign, in complete control of everything, and she turned TO him in obedience. She knew of her sin and rejected that lifestyle.
• The apostle Paul was a murderer of Christians. He was a Pharisee among Pharisees, being in his own mind the best keeper of the law and blameless. When he encountered Christ Jesus, he renounced everything he was that made him great in men's eyes as dung and followed Christ.

It's not about recognizing that you have sin. It's about what do you do with that after you recognize it.


And what the Bible says to do - as a matter of fact - it's the first words of Jesus as a man in his ministry - "Repent". Tell God in prayer that you KNOW you are a sinner. Confess those sins to him - even if you are embarrassed.


Believe that Jesus Christ died for you sins as the only way to appease the wrath of God and that God raised him from the dead on the third day.


Follow Jesus and love him as the Bible instructs. Obey God's will. Find a group of believers to fellowship with in real life. Read the Bible to know God and his love, mercy, and grace for you and his hatred of sin.

[OutlawBibleStudent]

Ok, you have made mistakes. So, first you need to know that you are not a bad, stupid, or inept person. You are just like everyone else in this world — we are all human and we all make mistakes. We all have weaknesses and we all have failures. We are all sinners.

God forgives us, but sometimes we are not willing to accept forgiveness because we feel it isn’t deserved, nevertheless the forgiveness he offers is a free gift. Just pour out your heart to God and ask for help and he will bring a real joy and peace back into your life. There is no better time to mend that relationship than right now. “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

From what you wrote, you may still be carrying guilt from your misdeeds. Guilt is a great feedback mechanism that God gave to guide us into changing our course and doing the right thing. Guilt or shame means we understand we did something wrong and have need to correct it.

If you have corrected your errors, thank God and move on. Use your mistake as an education and maybe even help others as they need support in their own transgressions. Use your guilt wisely — for yourself and others.