The Past Has Been Washed Away, The Present Is Yours For The Taking
There are few things that weigh down your life more than the regrets we carry. Some regrets you aren't even aware of until something happens in your life and all of the pain comes flooding back into our memory. I know what it's like to be in a place where you really wish you could've done one thing differently because it would've changed the trajectory of your life. But the good news is God specializes in forgiveness. That means even when you make a wrong decision God not only forgives you, God begins the work of repairing your future so you can still walk into the purpose He ordained for you.
ROHO TESTIMONY: I'm so grateful for Last's weeks devotional message, it was just what I needed to hear. I'm in a situation at my Job right now, where it feels like I'm being attacked, that message really helped me. Thank You for allowing God to use you. God Bless. (Marjorie Phillips, Pine Bluff, Arkansas) Give $5 ( SAY THIS PRAYER TO START YOUR DAY God, I thank you for all you have done. For your many blessings towards me, I am so grateful. I come not with a list of wants and requests, but I come before you just to say thank-you. Thank you for keeping me, even when I felt like giving up. Thank you for pulling me out of the worst thoughts in my mind and thank you for carrying me safely into a new day.
God my only request is for peace of mind. It seems so often my struggle is internal. I wrestle with self-doubt and low-self esteem. Dear God, help me to be patient with myself. I ask these things because I know there is a war within me. Between how you see me and how I see myself. And I desire to see myself the way you see me.
Please surround me with kindness and grace. Help me to find comfort in others who will be equally kind to me as I am to them. Help me to seek refuge from destructive people and habits. I pray for your peace to engulf the inner parts of my heart. I pray for your peace to calm my wrestling mind and spirit. I pray for your peace to guide my decisions and actions; and where I fall short, I pray for your peace to lead back to you. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Scripture for Meditation
Isaiah 43:18-19 (KJV) — "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."
Beloved, God is not asking you to forget what happened—He's asking you to stop living there. The Lord specializes in turning your mess into your message, your regrets into your redemption. When you release the past into His hands, He doesn't just forgive it; He redirects it into the blueprint of your destiny.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) — "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
Family, you are not the sum of your mistakes. Every time you accepted Christ's forgiveness, you became brand new—your record was wiped clean, not just legally but spiritually. The enemy wants you to carry yesterday's shame into today's opportunity. Don't give him that power.
Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV) — "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Paul didn't pretend his past didn't exist—he chose where his focus would live. Your assignment today is not to erase history but to redirect your energy toward the future God has already prepared for you.
Walking It Out
Name one regret you've been carrying — Write it down. Don't bury it. Acknowledge it before God, confess it if needed, and then write across that page: "PAID IN FULL BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS." This act of releasing it on paper is your declaration that you are no longer its prisoner.
Speak a declaration of identity over yourself today — Look in the mirror and say aloud: "I am forgiven. I am redeemed. I am a new creation. My past does not define my future." Say it three times. Let your ears hear what your spirit needs to know.
Take one action step toward your purpose today — Don't wait for perfection. Make that phone call, send that email, or write that first page. Your future belongs to you. God has already cleared the path. Step into it.
A Prayer for You
Lord, I come before You releasing every regret I've been carrying like stones in my pockets. You said You cast our sins into the sea of forgetfulness, and I receive that promise today. Give me the grace to stop rehearsing what You have already forgiven, and give me the boldness to step into the purpose You ordained for me before the foundation of the world. Help me see myself the way You see me—whole, redeemed, and destined for greatness. In Jesus' name, Amen.
About the Author
Rev. Nicholas S. Richards is an ordained minister, author of Destiny DNA, and founder of ROHO. For over 11 years, he has written more than 6,000 daily devotionals reaching believers worldwide. Learn more about Rev. Richards.