Devotions from Fil Anderson’s book, Breaking the Rules

We actually perceive and experience the world through our memories.  Our memories help us to observe and process new experiences and give them a place in our own unique life experiences. The most important thing to remember is God and His promises. So many times in the Bible we are told to remember. There are some wounds we would rather forget.  We falsely believe that if we don’t think about them, they will go away. They don’t.  Unhealed wounds that are hidden set us up for added sorrow in our relations with God and others.  This behavior can even be passed on to future generations. But if we recognize our memory as God’s gift to us, those things we believe will always plaque us  can be redeemed.  Absolutely nothing in our lives remains outside the reach of God’s love and mercy. If we try to hide or deny parts of our life story from God, others and ourselves, we’re assuming a divine role.  But instead if we let Him bless the past He can take those dark painful parts and bring healing. If we hide and pretend, it can become our identity and mask. We will lose our true self and wind up living an illusion. This goes back to pride that wants to take control and forget the truth of our existence, that we were bought with a price. God forgives our past but he doesn’t delete it. When we are open to face our broken and wounded condition, then we are in a position to be healed and enter a new way of living.