Hidden Grace

...to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. -Ephesians 4:22-24

While we must put off our old self, which was drowning in sin, we must not forget who we were before Christ rescued us. Often times, a moment in our past that we aren't proud of, becomes what we are ashamed of. When we are ashamed, we hide. We hide what we did, who we were and are, we keep it in a locked vault inside of us that no one can see. We become so ashamed, we are afraid about what might happen if it ever got out of the vault. If the devil can get us to believe that we need to be ashamed about what God saved us from, then he has successfully stopped part of God's story from reaching others.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

-Romans 8:1-2

In Christ and because of Christ, there is no condemnation. He set us free from sin and death, but we must not silence the how. Allowing the devil to silence us on where we came from and who we were robs God of the glory He deserves. God doesn't want us to forget where we were before His grace. It's a part of your life and His grand story and plan. If we forget where He brought us from, we don't appreciate all of His grace. It can be easy for Christians to forget all He saved us from for 2 main reasons.

1. Fear of shame. We don't want to feel ashamed, so instead of sharing, we hide.

2. We get so focused on the fact that we are not where we were anymore, so we think of ourselves above that. We know we are seen as righteous, only because of His righteousness, but we forget that we are the reason those nails pierced His hands, crown of thorns impaled His head, and death swallowed Him for three days.

Your story, your struggles, the point in your life when you were your worst enemy, where sin had a hold over your life, those moments are the most crucial part of the whole story. People need to hear the end of yourself so they can hear the beginning of Him. He starts working to help you put off your old self and begins growing our new self. Where you end, He's already started. When we put to death our old self, He works with us as we put on our new self. The story of His grace doesn't have much meaning if you never share why you needed that grace. Why would Him saving you mean anything if you act like you never needed saving? Christians, we were all saved from something, ourselves, our sin. Share what He saved you from, so you can share who He is, you can share part of His story. It doesn't mean with every person you meet or with every detail, but share it with friends, with people who are struggling with similar things. Don't let shame make you hide your encounter with Him and His grace. Shame doesn't allow room for His grace. Shame pushes us from Him, because we end up being so ashamed that we push Him away, and forget His grace.

Don't the the devil use shame to silence part of God's story. God allowed what you went through for a reason and it was not for you to hide it. Again, it doesn't mean we need to share every detail, share the broad topic if you want.

I'll start.... (these are just SOME of the things God has graciously rescued me from)

I idolized other people and their opinions

I thought I was nothing and wasn't enough

But God

God saved me. By breaking those friendships and revealing to me how much I relied on them. It was painful, but it needed to happen to allow me to realize how much I relied on them and protect me from other things that would happen. He saved me from myself by speaking truth over me and helping me see that He is enough and that is enough for me.