Everybody has a past. How you deal with that past will effect your future.
The definition of insanity- doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
To change your future, you have to change what you are doing right now!!
As a child of God, you have the RIGHT to be restored......it is your RIGHT! Isn't that awesome to know! You don't have to stay in your current condition! God wants you to thrive!!
Definition of Restoration -To be brought back to original or former condition.
7 Steps to Restoration:
1. Identify the problem
What has lead up to where you are now? Most people get down gradually.....over a period of time if you are not careful and guard areas in your life, you will fall. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. ~Psalm 37:27 Be careful who you talk to about your problem.....some people are not qualified to give you instruction. You need men and women of God with fruit in their lives......a spiritually mature person....a pastor is very important. AVOID counseling with your best friend or people closest to you, they will ALWAYS see it your way and will not be totally truthful with you. Find Godly counsel, proven to have fruit in their own lives and walk with God. Example: they pray, worship and study the word of God. Don't confess your faults to someone you cannot trust.
2. Seek forgiveness for the problems you identify.
He is a God of equality, he treats us fairly and does NOT forsake his saints. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. ~Psalm 37:28 You need to pray privately, but openly and honestly and ask for forgiveness of the problem you identified. Unburden yourself to the Lord, not other people!! Repent to the Lord and he will set you free! Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. ~Psalm 91:3
3. Forgive yourself
How can you forgive anybody else when you can't forgive yourself? Not saying excuse yourself for making bad choices, but forgiving yourself. You have to say, "Lord if you have forgiven me, who am I to keep this to myself and dwell on my mistakes?"
4. Bury the problems of your past.
Treat the past like a death.....especially people that bring you down and are NO GOOD for your life. The sooner you let that go, God can bring the right person/people in your life. When you decide to let the past and the people of the past go, things will start to change in the right direction. Satan wants you to stay stuck and he will want you with the past and the wrong crowd.
5. Do NOT transfer the blame!
This is HUGE, not blaming others, circumstance, etc. for your personal decisions and choices. Though HE stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:24.........in this passage it says, "though HE stumble...." WHO stumble? WE must take responsibility for our actions/choices and not play the "blame" game. This is putting your EGO on the shelf and PRIDE and saying, "I did this, I will accept full responsiblity for my life so far and my problems." Stop justifying your failures by blaming others! Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.~Proverbs 28:13 When people remind you of your past, you remind them of your FUTURE!! This is the day the Lord hath made and I WILL REJOICE and BE GLAD IN IT!!!!
You will have a Better day, better month, better year ..........because you serve a RISEN Savior!!! America loves to transfer the blame! Nobody can get together because their is too much blaming! You MUST take responsiblity and you say, "I did this, I was wrong, I will change and repent and do something about it!" Stop looking to someone else to be your resource! God IS your resource! Don't limit your reward! He owns the cattle on 1000 hills, as well as the hills! You dont need a woman or a man, you just NEED GOD!!! (Who have you chosen to believe?)
6. Allow God to heal the hurt caused to others
We forget that our sin, doesn't just effect us, it effects those around us. When those we love our harmed by our actions, we experience guilt, condemnation and shame.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.~Romans 8:1
Don't get caught up in the trap that you are responsible for healing and restoring everybody! Ask God to help restore them and help them to get past the pain you may have contributed to..........and then talk to those you have hurt with your past and ask them to forgive you and let them know you are going to make a change.The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom and his tongue speaks what is just.
Then, Stop talking about anything you want others to forget. Why do you want to argue with God who thinks the WORLD about you and you are thinking the lowest. RELAX and enjoy the blessing of God! Get to the point where you are more concerned about what God thinks then what others think. Don't get self-righteous, be real. None of us are truly worthy, but by him he made us worthy. :) Thank Goodness!!
Some days you may not FEEL very Victorious, Remember, your feeler may be broke, but your Father is not. Sometimes we have good and bad days. We don't always live in positive la la land.
It is good to have Godly people in your life, but make sure when you give them a problem, they don't just give you back an opinion. Make sure they are going back to what the word says, what does God say about this situation?
and last, but certainly not least,
7. Realize restoration is a process.
It doesn't happen overnight. People want everything instantly. It takes time, you are going to have to spend some personal time with God. Inner healing is constant and ongoing. It is a refining process, and when you feel your mind is going back to where you were and you get mad and it starts eating at you then you have to repent again and start back on the process and get your mind under your authority instead of the mind controlling or leading you, you lead your mind where you want it to go and what you want it to think on. You do not have to be limited and tormented by the things in your past. You need to ACT and LIVE like you desire God to treat you! You are the reason Jesus came to this earth to bridge a gap between you and the Heavenly father! Who are you or I to deny God what he desires?
