Joy: 37-Day DevotionalSample

My past seemed to haunt me wherever I went. Poor choices and worldly actions held me mired down in the pit of sin and shame that seemed to keep me there no matter how much I longed to escape. I’d been a Jesus follower for years but my walk was empty, stained. Despite my best efforts to get myself out of bad habits, my behavior always seemed to have fruitless results. I was still caught in the sludge of worldly decisions. 

Until….

I love that word. The dictionary defines it as “up to (the point in time or event mentioned)”. I define it as freedom. Until I finally found Jesus again, waiting for me to ask Him for help. I rededicated my life to Christ at the age of thirty and realized that I couldn’t continue to live the way I had and still have the relationship with Jesus that I desired. 

My old habits had to die and new ones needed to emerge. In Him, I would become a new creature. The time had come. The fear of shame and judgment didn’t need to bog me down anymore. I could have freedom from my past and live victoriously in Him.

I now have a joy that can be found only in Jesus. He has taken my past and written my future. My eternity is found in the One who gave me the forgiveness that I so desperately sought. I am truly new in Him.

Father, thank you for remaking me, reshaping me into a new woman. Because of Your love and forgiveness, I know that the sins of my past do not define who I am today. I am free in Jesus’ name. You have given me a joy that can be found only in communion with You. Please continue to show me my next steps that bring me even closer to You. In Your name, Amen.