Topic: You Are Not Damaged Goods [Joyce Meyer Devotional 14 January 2021]
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Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life…and be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind…and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.— Ephesians 4:22-24 (AMPC)
Women who have been abused in any way often feel they are damaged beyond repair. I grew up thinking no one would ever want me as a wife because of what my father had done to me, so I made the mistake of marrying the first boy who showed interest in me, at the age of eighteen, and he had even more problems than I did.
After five more years of abuse from him, I got a divorce. Those five years were filled with pain I could have avoided had I not been so desperate to be loved and afraid I never would be.
No matter what has happened to you in the past, you are not damaged goods, because when we are in Christ, we become new creatures entirely and old things pass away (See 2 Cor. 5:17). As the scripture says, we are “made complete” in Him. Whatever we did not get from people, we can get from God. He pays us back for all the mistreatment we have experienced in life, and then, in His goodness, He uses those painful things to help us help others. God makes us strong at our broken places!
How you see yourself is very important. It’s more important than what anyone else thinks of you. God sees the end from the beginning, and believe me, no matter how bad your beginning was, you can have a great finish in your life. You cannot change the way things were, but you can go forward and never look back. People often think, If only that hadn’t happened to me, I would have a better life. But you can still have a great life no matter what has happened to you, because God is an expert at fresh starts and new beginnings.
You may still be dealing with some of the effects of a painful past, but the time will come when there will be no evidence that they ever happened. I had my hip replaced a few years ago and it hurt for several weeks while it was healing. It gradually got better, and better and now I can’t even tell I ever went through that surgery. I have a new hip, and it is much stronger than the old one. God works in our souls the same way. When we open our wounds to Him and ask for healing, it hurts and the pain may get worse for a while, but gradually we get better and better and will eventually be stronger than ever.
If you believe you are damaged goods and that you will always have an inferior life, then that is what you will experience. God has promised us many wonderful things, but we access each of them by believing they are for us and receiving them by faith. Jesus died for you to have a wonderful, joyful, and peaceful life and I urge you not to settle for anything less.
Prayer Starter: Father God, You know what is in my past and I give You control of my future. Help to understand that I am complete in You, and I am a new person in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.