The Lie of Yesterday says because you messed up in X, Y, or Z yesterday, you are not able to experience the fullness of today. This lie will tell you things like, Well, you’re not fully sorry for what you did, so you don’t get to enjoy today. You really didn’t learn the lesson from your mistake, so why would you be trusted with anything good today? You weren’t able to control your mouth last week and keep from saying that hurtful thing to your mother, so what makes you think you can today? You weren’t able to say ‘no’ to the advances of that attractive person last month, so what makes you think tonight will be any different? You haven’t been able to kick that addiction so far, so what makes you think today could be your day to change? I could continue with the hypothetical, internal monologue most people have at one time or another.
The enemy’s native language is a fusion of lies and accusations. Think about the devil as the unholy antithesis of Christ. The devil lies. Christ is the truth. The devil condemns. Christ rescues. Christ never lies, and He took the condemnation against our sin on Himself. Satan only lies, and he lies to condemn people. Christ died to free people from condemnation with the truth that he wants relationship with us.
If you’re feeling crushed under something you can’t carry on your own, this fact might shock you: Jesus knows exactly how you feel. A unique aspect of Christianity, distinct from other world religions, is the character of the God Christians worship. Jesus is the only God who suffers and dies to save people. Not only does Jesus die, but He also stumbles and falls on the way to His destiny. On His way to Calvary, Jesus fell under the weight of the cross and someone helped Him carry the cross. My point is this: You won’t find any other God who understands you the way Jesus does. Jesus experienced the feeling of stumbling and being crushed, so He understands how you feel and has the power to carry your burdens.
The enemy wants you to believe God’s ashamed of you. He doesn’t want you to know Jesus already carried your shame.
Here’s the truth: the devil knows that if he can keep us looking back to the failures of yesterday, we won’t see the victories of today. If we continue to keep our heads down, walking in the same track of defeat and self-fulfilling prophecies, then we won’t see God do something new in us. So much of our walk in life and with the Lord has to do with what we choose to focus on and give our attention to. If we’re continuing down yesterday’s thought patterns because we think those are the only thought patterns we can have, we will continue walking in circles in the same sins and issues. Although we often carry the ramifications of our actions yesterday into today, our hope and ability to change is not defined by our actions. Our hope and ability to change is defined by the fact that God is the God who enters our chaos and brings order. He does not wait until we’ve tidied our lives up enough or worked out our issues on our own before He accepts, renews, and transforms us. God doesn’t love a future version of us. God loves us now. Remember, those who think they don’t have a need for grace never know how wonderful it truly is. My whole faith in Jesus is wrapped up in my knowing that I am incredibly imperfect and that, in my imperfection, Jesus’ grace, healing power, strength, mercy, and redemption are made real to me.
Cavanaugh James appears this Thursday on LIFE TODAY. This is an excerpt from Higher Power Has A Name by Cavanaugh James. Copyright ©2019 by Cavanaugh James. Published by InProv, Ltd. Used by permission.
