Dealing with the skeletons of yesterday’s closets is an important part of starting over. Inner battles with ghosts from the past are an ever-present hazard for every person. At first very faint, the rattling gets louder and louder. Moving a dresser in front of the closet door won’t make the noise go away.

Guilt and anxiety rise and threaten to destroy you. Eventually, you come to the place where you think it’s all over—no hope of escape. Yet, while the “skeletons” of your past may be embarrassing if made public, God’s grace is always available. And the Lord has taken many skeletons of sin and transformed them into testimonies of grace. To be sure, the gossipers are always hungry for tidbits. However, their stories are only empowered and distorted by secrecy. The reality is: God has used many in His service who had embarrassing pasts. Abraham, the friend of God, was once a worshipper of idols. Joseph, with a prison record, became prime minister of Egypt. Moses, a murderer, delivered God’s people from slavery under Pharoah. Jephthah, an illegitimate child and gang leader, became one of God’s judges. Rahab, a former prostitute, is listed in Hebrews 11 as a great woman of faith. Eli and Samuel, both terrible fathers, were strong servants of God as priest and judge. Jonah and John Mark both ran away from the mission field but were later faithful servants of their God. Peter openly denied the Lord Jesus Christ and even cursed Him but became God’s primary spokesman in the early church. Paul was a vicious persecutor of the church (the disciples couldn’t believe he was really saved), yet he is responsible for much of our doctrinal understanding of God and His ways. What is the point of all this? When you are at the point of starting over, it is important to remember that when God forgives, He forgets. He is willing to use any cracked or chipped vessel if it’s clean today; no matter how dirty it was yesterday!

Sin cera, Erik

Erik O. Garthe is Associate Pastor at Canton Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.

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