Burn it all

When I was seven years old, I was fighting sleep when I noticed crackling noises and a yellow light outside my bedroom window.
I peaked through the blinds and saw that the abandoned house next door had caught fire and was completely immersed in flames. Fear struck through my entire body and I ran into the kitchen to tell my parents what I had just saw. They didn't believe me at first. I can imagine it was a shock to them, too.
After we called 911, we all stood outside watching the energy of the flames consume the old house. I remember wondering why no one lived in it to begin with, that maybe the last person who lived there wanted to leave behind the things that happened within those walls.
I could feel the heat so hot on my face even being a thousand feet away.

This memory reminds me of something that we should all know: the past is gone, but there are things that still consume us to this day. They wrap themselves around our minds and our bodies reminding us of our darkness, and the things that haunted us. How can we move on when the past feels more alive than our present? Is there a future for us? How can we move forward when these black vines have their grip on our ankles dragging us back?

I'm about to tell you something that will change you, if you believe.

Jesus is a fire.

He isn't a man that sways when He walks and speaks softer than your great grandmother. He is God and He is powerful, able to consume even the darkest parts of your past and present. There are things you have been saved from that you aren't even aware of. You're here, alive for a very specific reason. So don't let what happened THEN affect your NOW.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:28-29 NKJV

I suppose humanity will always try to have a grip on us, but it will not win.

No matter the sin that entangles us, we have VICTORY in our God, JESUS CHRIST.

You are not disgusting.

You are clean.

The old is gone.

Our God consumed the darkness with His Love.

Forgive yourself and let Him burn it all.

Do not hate yourself for the things you have done. Do not try to outdo yourself to please God. He is already so proud of you. Just let Him in, let Him love you, and remember that you are worthy through Him alone. Let His forgiveness remind you that you cannot do this on your own. He loves you more than anything.


Jesus, thank you for not hiding yourself from us. Thank you for not casting a shadow on us to make us feel small, but to remind us that we are safe, that you do not judge us the way man does. You do not see us as less. You see us as more. Heal our broken hearts and clean our battle wounds. Take away our tattered pasts and burn it all. The good remains. In Jesus name, amen.