9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” St. Mark 2: 9-11
The last blog was under the theme Resilience, today I will write about Overcoming the Past, which is part of the process of a resilient. When you rise from the ashes, there is a process in your life. One of the processes is to overcome your past. Our past comes with a baggage full of different situations such as low self-esteem, divorce, depression, bad habits, unemployment, illness and other things that each one keeps in their “secret drawer”. I want to talk (write) to you today about several situations that even in our present day that we live.
Through the Bible there are several fascinating stories of people who had a past that society rejected and that only God could transform them. One of the people with a fascinating history is the life of Mary Magdalene, she was demonized not only by a demon but by 7 demons (Luke 8: 2). God released her, she became a follower of Jesus and messenger of his resurrection. We see the story of Rahab, she was a harlot (prostitute) (Joshua 2:1). Rahab helped the spies of Joshua and she recognized the power of Jehovah therefore, she was part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1: 5). We have, the case of the Samaritan woman (Saint John 4), where Jesus revealed her past and she gave testimony of the encounter with Jesus and many believed in Him. Another case was Saul (Acts 9), a man who was dedicated to look for the Christians to imprison them and even worse, kill them. We read how Saul had a personal encounter with God and then devoted himself to preaching the gospel to every creature.
Another case is the life of David, which God loved. David was a pastor of sheep and was anointed as King of Israel. It happened that during his reign, David in time of war stayed in Jerusalem (1 Samuel 11). It happened that one day, when David was walking on the roof of the royal house, he saw from the roof a woman bathing, which was beautiful. This woman, Bathsheba, was Uriah’s wife. David knowing that she was married, he sent for her and slept with her. But, that was not enough, he ordered to kill Uriah by placing him at the head of the war. God was displeased with what David did and admonished him through the prophet, Nathan. Punishment came to David’s house. David repented of his sin. God’s love and mercy forgave him and loved him. So much so, that he gave a son to David and Bathsheba, which was called Solomon, which God loved (2 Samuel 12) and God’s love allowed David to be in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (John 1).
With these biblical examples, we see that they are experiences of our actuality as human beings that live in a world full of so many adversities. What is there in common among all these people? It was repentance. Above all, the common denominator in all them is Jesus’ love, forgiveness, and mercy.
I do not know what adversity process you are going through. Maybe there are many people who know about you, your past, and your situation, but one thing I’m sure it’s just up to you to get up and walk. It is important to overcome your past, which is part of being a resilient, is not letting yourself be submerged by defeat or failure, or by what people think of your past. It’s time to get up off the stretcher and emerge. Today, Jesus says to you: “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
Prayer: Open your heart
Lord Jesus, today I am in your presence asking for your forgiveness. I do not know how many times I have come before you to apologize but, I recognize that no matter how many times I fall on my knees, you raise me up, heal my wounds and forgive me again. I thank you for your love and mercy, but above all for your forgiveness. Help me in my new walk because I know that my past you threw it in the bottom of the sea. Today, I am a new man / woman in you. Amen.
A friendly advice
Dear friend, I want to tell you that you have the capacity to face your problems. You can overcome the obstacles and you should not give into the pressure that society dictates. As my husband says, “We live in a society full of high technology and commercialization, we give more importance to money (work) and what people will say” or what others think of you.
The truth, friend, a resilient forgets all the past and does not care what others say because he/she has realized that there are other wonderful things that the world gives us such as nature, family and loved ones. We wake up to see and live the wonders that God has given us; extraordinary things to enjoy freely and remember that God has given us a new beginning because of his love and mercy. Today, stand in victory because our sins have been forgiven by Jesus. Get up, take your stretcher and walk! Go home and enjoy life and the opportunity to live another day.