Apr 17, 20205 min
I see you.
I see you seeking water at the well in the sweltering heat at noon. Hoping no one else will be around. Away from the whispers and the stares.
I see you in the wilderness waiting to die. Feeling abandoned, hopeless, unseen, and scared.
I see you standing, trembling before your accusers. Ripped from all dignity, trying to cover yourself with barely any cloth, waiting for someone to throw the first stone.
You think that you have to wear that brazen red letter over your heart. That this badge that others have sewn onto you has to be your only identity. That your moment(s) of weakness has you forever marked as "that girl"-
When Moses was still living with Pharaoh he struck down an Egyptian.
He killed him and then hid him in the sand.
David knowingly summoned a married woman to his bed (rape ?), got her pregnant, and tried to deceive her husband into lying with her in order to cover up the pregnancy. But when that didn't work, he arranged for Bathsheba's husband to be killed under the guise of warfare casualties. David then acted as if nothing was awry until the Prophet Nathan called him out.
Saul was so zealous in his pursuit of riding Jews of the "Jesus cult", that other men laid their cloaks at his feet as they prepared to stone young Stephen, the first martyr of the Bible.
He was also known for “ravaging the church” dragging off men and women-putting them in prison for simply having faith in Jesus as Lord.
2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death."
Moses should have been branded as a murderer for the rest of his life. However, we know that this was not the end of his story. He did not stay living out his days in the wilderness of Midian.
No, he became one of the most famous characters in the Bible.He led the Hebrew people out of Egyptian bondage and through the Red Sea. He had a one-on-one session with God on top of Mt. Sinai and had the amazing privilege of bringing down the hand-written ten commandments from God.
David is still known for being a man after God's own heart, and as the great King David, one of the greatest Kings of Israel, even to this day.
When most Christians think of Paul (his new identity), we think of him as one of the great heroes of the faith. Someone who wrote nearly half of the New Testament, and evangelized most of the known world at that time. The thorn in his flesh nor the regrets of his past did not keep him from being used by God in a mighty way.
You see, Scarlett, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).You were not the first the fall nor will you will be the last.
Psalm 103:8-12 "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses.For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Sister, once you have repented of your sins, your transgressions are gone, and only you are the one holding on to them. Refusing to forgive yourself will be the same as rejecting Jesus dying on the cross. When He died for us He took on all the weight of sin, so that you and I wouldn't have to bear it. He is truly big enough to handle it. Give it to Him, and hang your head no more.
Don't live your life in the shadows. Instead do as Paul once said, "forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead." So much lies ahead. God has so many plans.
Throw off that dirty cloak of shame and rip off your badge of dishonor.
Be the daughter of the King that our Lord knows you to be.
Sincerely,
Grace