Day 19: The Person You Used to Be
One of the great tactics of Satan and his fallen minions is to keep us in perpetual guilt and shame about our past and the mistakes we made and sins in which we lived. If the prince of darkness can keep us in a defeated mindset about the person we used to be, then it hampers the work of God in us and most likely will stop the work of God through us. I have heard many people giving the advice that we should forget our past because God has forgiven and forgotten it. Psalm 103 does make that clear.
Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
I agree with the premise that we should not allow our past to weigh on our hearts and minds. If you have repented and confessed your sins to the Lord, He has forgiven them, covered them, and hopefully cleansed you of the nature to return to them. What I disagree with is the practice of forgetting our past. We should remember who we used to be. Not so that it has power over us and keeps us in shame and guilt as the enemy would intend, but so that we can remember the wonderful work of Jesus that we experienced is available for those who are still living in sin. Remembering where we were softens our hearts to see those still lost with the eyes of Jesus.
There are a few sayings, clichés really, that bring me joy and peace when it comes to my past, I hope they do the same for you. Here they are:
“Your past is a place of reference, not residence.”
“Your history doesn’t define your destiny.”
“God turns messes into messages and tests into testimonies.”
“Jesus didn’t come to rub it in, He came to wipe it off.”
“The enemy knows your name but calls you by your sin, God knows your sin but calls you by your name.”
“Every Saint has a past, and every sinner a future.”
“Your past may explain you, but it does not define you.”
These are some often used clichés that I find very encouraging. I hope you will let their truth sink deep into your heart and mind, because what I say next might very well be what your calling is in this life!
A couple weeks ago my mentor asked if I was caught up on a podcast that we listen to because he was particularly moved by a recent episode that featured a guy by the name of Ed Mylett. I hadn’t seen the episode yet when he asked me again yesterday and he got into me a little bit. “You need to check that out, he’s got the juice.” So, I checked out the episode and I tell you what, my eyes were watering without permission as this guy gave testimony about his alcoholic father, how he handled him, how that circumstance made him the man he is today, and how God radically saved his dad. It was such a powerful testimony. In fact, let me give you a link to watch the presentation that impacted me.
It was a leadership event but his relationship with Jesus was so powerful to him that business and evangelism were hand in hand, and he gave me a powerful reminder that I hope has a profound impact on you as well. Ed said this: “You are the most qualified to help the person you used to be.” Man, that’s good. The first line of the video goes something like this:
“You know what qualified this man to help my dad get sober… He was also a drunk. He had been sober for 31 days.”
Church, we are most qualified to help the person we used to be. If we allow Jesus to radically change our lives, He can use us to introduce that radical change into other people's lives the exact same way! Do not let Satan make you view your past as a disqualifier, let God help you overcome and use it for the Kingdom!
Let me leave you with another story of God’s redemptive power. Mel Trotter’s story is one of the most powerful testimonies of redemption and transformation. He went from being a hopeless alcoholic, constantly failing his family, to becoming one of the most influential rescue mission leaders in American history.
Mel Trotter was born in 1870 to a family that struggled with alcoholism. His father was a bartender and a drunk, and Mel followed in his footsteps. Despite trying to make an honest living as a barber, he repeatedly succumbed to the pull of alcohol, leading to financial instability and a destructive lifestyle. He married and had a child, but his drinking worsened. He would disappear for days on end, leaving his wife and child with nothing. No matter how many times he promised to quit, he always relapsed.
One of the lowest points in his life came when his young child died due to illness and neglect. Wracked with grief and guilt, he vowed never to drink again. But just hours after his child’s funeral, he broke that vow and found himself drunk once more. Utterly hopeless, Trotter decided to end his life. He boarded a train to Chicago with no money, no plan, and no purpose, intending to throw himself into Lake Michigan.
Before he could carry out his plan, he stumbled into the Pacific Garden Mission, a well-known rescue mission in Chicago that ministered to the homeless and addicted. There, he was met by people who shared the love of Christ with him. As he listened to the gospel message, he realized that Jesus offered him the very thing he had been searching for—true freedom. That night, he surrendered his life to Christ, and for the first time, he experienced real transformation.
Trotter never touched alcohol again. Instead, he devoted his life to rescuing others trapped in the same hopeless cycle he had once known. In 1900, he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and founded the Grand Rapids City Rescue Mission, which provided food, shelter, and the gospel to the homeless and addicted. Under his leadership, the mission flourished. Trotter went on to help start over 60 rescue missions across the United States, many of which are still active today. His passion for evangelism and his personal testimony became a beacon of hope for thousands of people.
Mel Trotter became one of the leading voices in the early 20th-century rescue mission movement. His story is a testimony that no one is too far gone for God’s grace. He lived out the truth of:
2 Corinthians 5:17 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new is here!
Even today, his life reminds us that God can take the most broken people and use them for His kingdom. His rescue missions continue to serve the lost and addicted, proving that the power of Christ is still at work. We are most qualified to help the person we used to be.