Then said he to Thomas, Reach here your finger, and behold my hands; and reach here your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. (John 20:27)
Poor Thomas. We all have our moments of doubt and lack of faith. We see by this example that even those who knew the Master and walked with Him in His earthly form also had their doubts. When we doubt, we only need to remember His promises.
Many times throughout our lives, we are faced with "issues" we'd rather not deal with. We experience pain that cuts so deep we don't believe it will ever stop. We may often think the wound will never heal and that blessings will never fall on us again. When we walk away, for what ever reason, and come back - nothing has changed. His love is still as strong and as constant as it always was. He waits for us. He longs to hold us and tell us all will be fine. In our "pitty party" we don't want to hear those words - we want to remain sullen and depressed and carry the "nobody loves me" banner higher than anything. We want the world to know we've been hurt and that we feel deserted.
We are never alone. Our heavenly Father is never more than a heart beat away from us. The Holy Spirit that lives within us feels our pain and hears our sobs. I will tell you that He definitely has His work cut out for Him in my life! The enemy has been making camp here lately and it's time to clean house!
Are there things in your life that need to be put away? Are there things that need to be tossed out to make room for the blessings? Are you a hoarder in the sense that you hang on to every pain, every hurt, every memory (good or bad) and every emotion that you've ever experienced? Do you constantly flip through that photo album in your mind and long to go back to that day when you were the happiest you can ever remember being?
We can't. It's not possible. Time is the one commodity that slips away and never makes it's way back to us. We can spend all our money, eat all our food, and it can be replenished. We cannot turn back the clock and change the course of history. We can roll over in our minds the decisions we've made and the acts we've committed but we cannot change them. We cannot take it back and "fix" it. The choices we've made define who we were. We have the ability to change who we are! We have the option to walk with Jesus. He doesn't hold our past against us, so why do we? Why do we listen to the dribble of the demons of our past?
Today is the day to close the door to the past and lock it. Walk forward with your head held high! Look to Jesus to lead you and stand by your side. He's the one person who will never turn His back on you. He does not hold your past against you. He will not belittle you, nor will He abandon you. He considers you to be worth something - after all, He died for you! Cleanse your heart and your soul - let His love and that shed blood wash over you and relieve you of all your burdens. Put the photo album in the trash can and leave it there (and don't go picking it up because of your fear of what's to come - allow yourself the opportunity to experience something new - you deserve it). There's a reason why that part of your life is over. God has a new adventure for you! Go out and find it! He's just waiting for you to put the lid on that trash can. The clock is ticking...
