Old voices
2020-12-062 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
When someone criticises us or hurts us, even if it was unintentional, their words can stick with us for a long time. We might even think we’ve forgotten, and then years later, we’ll suddenly remember them. Over time, we might find that a lot of the sting has gone out of the words, but often the memory and the pain is just as fresh as it was on the day we heard them. The enemy can use those memories to discourage us and get us to condemn ourselves.
But ‘God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,’ so we can confidently stand our ground and remind the enemy that Jesus has already defeated him through His death and resurrection.
If the criticism or hurtful remarks were unjustified, we need to hold on to the truth of how God sees us. Ephesians 6:14 says: ‘Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness’ (NLT).
But what about if the criticism was justified at the time? Sometimes, it’s not what was said, but the way it was said, that makes it hurt. We’ve all made our fair share of mistakes, but God sees us ‘in Christ’, and accepts us just as we are, because we’re covered by Jesus’ righteousness. We also need to remember that God’s transforming us little by little, day by day, so we’re not the same person we were when the criticism was made. We’re works-in-progress, and God won’t give up on us. The old voices of the past don’t define our future or the way God sees us, and we shouldn’t let them define the way we think about ourselves either.