Day 2007 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Ephesians 4:22 NIV

So I had this really weird dream night before last. I was rummaging through this huge patch of dirt looking for something worth holding on to. I would pick something up, brush it off, and just toss it back down because it was all just junk. Now I've been thinking about that for a couple of days, and I really think there's a message in there.

How many times does God pull us away from something, and we look back to see if there is anything worth keeping. He finally manages to get through to us and help us understand that there's something better out there, but we still look through what we have to see if we want to take anything with us. We have all lived some pretty messed up lives in the past. And God, through His endless love and mercy, has continually led us to bigger and better things.

But the question is why do we still keep looking through the garbage that we were once surrounded by thinking that there's something worth keeping? Why are we convinced that there's something valuable in the piles of dirt that He's rescued us from? No matter how hard we keep searching, there's never going to be anything there worth holding on to and keeping around. We just need to let it all go.

We all talk about how badly we want to be free from the darkness and pain of our past. We want to be able to move on and try to forget the mistakes that we've made. But if we keep going back over them, if we keep sifting through the dirt of the past, then we're going to miss that opportunity to move on. If we're convinced that there's something valuable to be found in the way we once lived, then we're going to be kept from living in a different and better way.

That's what this verse is reminding us. Freedom, salvation, health, happiness, and every other good thing are possible. They are all there for the taking. God really is leading us to better things than we've ever experienced before. But we have to leave the old ways behind. We have to walk away from the dirt in the past. Yeah, it's absolutely crazy to think that God is actually willing to look past our mistakes and let us try again, but He is. It's unreal to think that He still loves us and has better promises for us even though we're completely unworthy, but He does.

Stop looking for things from the broken past to bring with you. Stop trying to hold on to things that you really need to let go of. Stop trying to brush it off, clean it up, and find some kind of value in those mistakes you've made. It's just not there. Let it go and move on. Don't risk missing out on the better way of life that He's leading you toward because you're busy searching the messed up past looking for answers or understanding. It just doesn't matter anymore. We have been called to true freedom, and there's just no reason to bring anything with us!