When the Scales Fall From Our Eyes

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

As we walk with God, there are moments when the scales begin to fall from our eyes (Please read Acts 9:17-18).
We look back at the choices we once made, relationships we mishandled, words we spoke, or ways we treated others and suddenly we see them differently. Things we once justified, we now recognize as wrong.Things we once thought were simply who we were become things God is asking us to surrender.

That realization can hurt.

For me I felt stricken with guilt, regret, shame, grief and sadness. God why couldn't I have come to you sooner? Why did I not see or feel this before? Sitting in that guilt or shame I had to remind myself and that He paid for me to have the opportunity to repent and let go of my past. HE PAID FOR ME. How freeing is that? Now, repenting isn't just saying sorry and continuing on with the sin. Its about acknowledging His sacrifice, going to the Father and saying thank you for forgiving me I am going to move forward and try as humanly possible to do better and run from this sin. Help me Lord to never return back to that place. I know it's hard, it's an addiction, it's a habit, but please let me break free from these parts of me.

" So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." Galatians 5:16-18

We must remind ourselves that conviction is not condemnation. Conviction says "This needs to change," where as condemnation says "You can never change."

There are things we did in the past that we wouldn't do today- not because we're better than the person we used to be, but because we've grown. Maybe you didn't understand the consequences of your choices. Maybe you were operating from hurt, insecurity, anger, immaturity, or simply a lack of wisdom. That doesn't mean every past action was right. But it does mean that you don't have to spend the rest of your life punishing yourself for the person you were before God opened your eyes.

Lean on the discernment of the Holy Spirit that God has given you.

"The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba Father." Romans 8:15

This testimony of yours, God can use and turn it into a powerful instrument for His glory. You see it throughout scripture: God doesn't just waste our past. He redeems it!

When conviction comes, we have a choice. We can become consumed by shame, or we can allow God to use what we've recognized to make us wiser, humbler, and more compassionate. And when God reveals something in us that needs to change, we don't have to run from Him... we get to run toward Him.