Day 2280 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Colossians 3:7 NIV

The life you once lived. That's a line that seriously hits home with me. And I would imagine that it really hits home for everyone who shares our faith. That's the thing that makes our faith so unique and so powerful. It changes us. It causes us to think differently. It teaches us how to act differently. It calls us to examine ourselves and find the things that we need to change and the things that we simply need to walk away from.

This is one of those things that I actually think about quite a lot. A lot of people like to take those jaunts down memory lane. They sit around and reminisce on the good old days. That's all fine and dandy but it can sure become a stumbling block when God calls us to take a different path. We can get caught in this weird place where we're still holding on to the past while trying to take hold of something new. Eventually something's got to give.

I speak from a lot of experience on this one. For a long time I was still in high school. I would relive all the memories that I'd made. I would sit around and wonder what all those friends were doing now. But then one day I realized that it didn't matter anymore. Those bonds were gone. Those friendships were over. Those people had moved on, so why didn't I? Why was I still holding on to something that had already let me go? I didn't want to wonder why they didn't talk anymore. I didn't want to figure out if I could have done more to keep in contact. I wanted to move on. I wanted to live my life.

The past is a tricky thing. We need to learn from it so that we can grow and do better going forward. But at the same time we need to let it go so that it doesn't hold us back from going forward. That's really the lesson that I learned in figuring all this out. The truth is that I'm not the same person I was back then. I've changed a whole lot (and I'd like to think for the better.) So reliving a life that isn't my life anymore just doesn't make sense. God doesn't call us to relive the same thing over and over again. He calls us to constantly move forward with Him.

So now when I look back all I can see is how different I've become. All I can see are the changes that I have been truly blessed to make in my life. And I can't imagine going back. I can't even believe that old life was actually one that I lived. I can't see the similarities. And I know that had I insisted on holding onto the past that I would have never made the choices and the changes that have helped me become who I am today. I wouldn't trade this new me for the old. I wouldn't take that old life back if it meant giving up this new one. I would trade this new fire to live for Christ for anything!

I wanted to share this one today to encourage everyone to trust God. Trust Him when He leads you in a new direction that doesn't make any sense at first. Trust Him when He leads you away from things that you thought were as good as it could get. Trust Him when His plans take you through times of loneliness and doubt. Trust Him when you feel like you're losing everything and everyone that you had ever known. Trust Him when He calls you to walk away and leave the past behind you.

It might feel scary. It might be hard. But I promise you that it is worth that risk. It's worth walking through that fear. It's worth it because God will never lead us away from something and not replace it with something even better. No matter how great the past was, it's over. Don't miss out on the new that God is doing right now because you're busy looking back. Be willing to let go and move because that's the only way that we can truly follow Christ to the better life that He has planned for us.

Just always remember that the life you have lived doesn't have to be the life that you live starting today.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold