Unshackled Moments ~ February 27, 2018 ~ Escaping The Prison Of The Past

Most of us in recovery have a past that isn't exactly praiseworthy and wonderful. Of course we're not unique in that. The past is a prison that traps and punishes many. I have received the promise of recovery and no longer regret the past, but rather see how my experience can benefit others....most days. But February and a little over half of March are months in which the past annually put me on the run. Perhaps you have particular times of the year, whether it be a day, week or more where the wounds of the past feel fresh and inescapable. Or maybe you are still a total prisoner, living day to day in the pain of yesterday.

I usually feel like I have escaped the pain, shame, condemnation and regret of the past, but that's not as much of a good thing as one might think. Escaping is my default. Those in recovery may understand what I mean. Reality, fear, pressure...life in general is something to avoid, escape, numb and enhance. Nothing can be completely enjoyed in the now as it is. The bad must be doctored and the good made even better. And there is another aspect about escaping the past that I realized is not so great. When one escapes prison, they are not free.

An escapee is worse off than someone who knows there's a warrant out for their arrest. Sure, they're out there walking around, and they're not in the cage, but they're also not really free. There is constant fear. What if I'm found? What if someone recognizes me and turns me in? Every time law enforcement is spotted, fear floods over them and they prepare to run, fight or be recaptured. A dog barking triggers paranoia and visions of bloodhounds on their trail. You get the idea. You can't go home. The bounty hunters of the past may be watching and waiting. You can not be yourself or go wherever you may need or wish to go. What happens if the past is there ready to lock you up again?  As an escapee, I spend at least part of the time, every year, trying to avoid recapture, which means that no matter how I am able to walk around in the free world, I am not truly free.

But the promise is not that we will escape our past. It is that we will no longer regret the past. We don't have to fear it but can use it as a tool to help others. The past is no longer our master but our servant, through the grace and power of God. Jesus came not to help us escape the past. He came to set us free from our captivity. And that is an essential and crucial difference of understanding.

I served seven and a half years in the Texas prison system before being paroled for half a year and then being freed from my sentence. I served my time. I'm done. I can walk into the jail to minister to someone and talk to the jailers. I don't worry about them holding me because I am no longer a wanted man. My sentence is served. I didn't escape prison. I was set free.

I don't have to be afraid when I see law enforcement as I drive down the road. I no I am not breaking the law, do not have contraband and can not receive a new charge, and all old charges are settled. There is true freedom in that, even though my record remains stained in society. I will be a felon for life, even though my sentence is done. Still, I do not have to be afraid, and I do not have to  run.

We need to remember that we have not escaped our past or our judgment. If we view ourselves as escapees then we must concern ourselves with recapture. We didn't escape. Jesus came and took our place. He paid the price, received our judgment and served our sentence. There are no warrants, no bounties attached to our identities. We don't have to live in shame or guilt because we are clean before God. We haven't only been released but pardoned. We are no longer spiritual felons. It is as though we never were charged and can not be.

When we understand and remember that we have been truly freed, the past is no longer a prison we need to fear being trapped in or tortured by. It becomes a tool, a weapon with which to beat back oppression for others.  In recovery we see how our experience can benefit others. The word of our testimony, our story, when combined with the blood of the Lamb becomes the weapon with which we overcome the enemy. Instead of something to cause shame and fear, our past can become what we use to show the love, power and glory of God. This is who I was, what I did, what was done to me, but Jesus changed me, forgave me, served my time and healed my wounds. I am no longer victimizer nor victim. I am a new creation and free. And what I have been given you can have too.

Like Paul, we can acknowledge where and who and what of our past without guilt or shame or fear. I was the chief of sinners, a persecuter, a murderer...for me, a felon, a drunk, a junkie and a destroyer of lives, but God....your story is different than mine, although there may be similarities. but you are also free, forgiven and clean before God if you have accepted the exchange of the cross and the work of Christ on your behalf. You don't have to escape the past or fear recapture. You have been set free.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.