Counsels on Self-Identity

Counsel #15 — Painful Past

Picture: Counsel #15 — Painful Past CI 115.1

In life, pain is unfortunately inevitable. Maybe someone used your body and left you feeling like it was your fault, or in moments of loneliness, maybe you used your own sexuality to feel seen or in control. Sexual brokenness sometimes hides behind silence, bitterness, and shame — all things that attack your sense of femininity. CI 115.2

Despite the pain of the past, you can find comfort in knowing that Jesus doesn’t see you as broken. For example, He didn’t shame the woman caught in adultery. In fact, He silenced her accusers and encouraged her to live a new life focused on His love for her and His redemptive power. He also didn’t condemn the Samaritan woman who’d had multiple husbands, but instead gave her living water. Through Christ, your past doesn’t define you. His grace does! Femininity isn’t something you lose when you’ve been hurt or made mistakes. It’s something God restores when you come to Him. Remember that healing may take time, and extending forgiveness may not fix every relationship. Just know and remember that no matter what happened in your past, your body is not ruined, and your soul can be redeemed!^[116] CI 115.3

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV CI 115.4

“When pain has seemed to be almost unbearable, I have looked to Jesus and prayed most earnestly…” Ellen White in That I May Know Him, p. 283 CI 115.5

Reflect: What part of your past have you allowed to shame you into silence? CI 115.6