Have you ever felt like your past has a tighter grip on you than your future does? Does it feel like no matter how far you run or how hard you try; something keeps pulling you backward? That something is often more than just regret—it’s a spiritual weight. But here’s the good news: you weren’t meant to carry it. And there is a way to be rid of it.
The apostle Paul, once known as Saul—a fierce enemy of the Church—had a past soaked in violence and shame. He was present when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was killed. Yet years later, Paul would say, “We have wronged no man” — 2 Corinthians 7:2. How? Because Paul had learned how to let the past die at the foot of the cross. He stopped identifying with who he had been and started agreeing with who God said he now was.
That same freedom is available to you.
Scripture calls satan the accuser of the brethren… “who accuses them before our God day and night” — Revelation 12:10. The enemy never forgets your failures and uses them against us continually. But God does forget. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us”, is what God says to His people in Psalm 103:12. When you bring your sin and failures to Jesus and receive His forgiveness, those failures are not just covered—they’re erased from your record. God has the power to forget them—and He does just that when we repent.
So what does it mean to “put it under the blood”?
It means you come before the Lord and agree with Him about your failure—confessing your sin. Not to rehearse it in guilt, but to release it in faith. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What a promise those words give to us!
Once you are cleansed by the blood of Jesus, your past no longer has ANY authority or power in your present. Jesus paid for it. You don’t owe it anything. And when the memories creep in, trying to steal your peace? Take them straight to the cross. Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). This isn’t just a one-time surrender. It’s a lifestyle. A daily letting go. A daily choosing to believe what God says is more true than what your past screams.
One powerful way to do this is through communion. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 11:24–25 that on the night Jesus was betrayed, He took bread… and said, ‘This is My body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way also the cup… saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this… in remembrance of Me.’
Jesus didn’t ask us to remember our worst moments—He asked us to remember Him. His body, broken instead of ours. His blood, poured out so we could go free. When your past tries to claim you, sit at the Lord’s table. Hold the bread. Hold the cup. And say with boldness: I’m not who I used to be—I’ve been made new, because of Jesus.
The Word makes it clear: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Corinthians 5:17. And verse 21 adds, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” You are not defined by what you did—you are defined by what Jesus did for you.
But be aware: even forgiven sins can haunt your thoughts if you don’t renew your mind. Romans 12:2 reminds us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That means reading God’s Word until it rewrites your thinking. It means believing that “His mercy is new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22–23), even when your feelings tell you otherwise.
When you stumble—and we all do—don’t hide from God. Run to Him. Confess, receive, remember. And move forward. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
As Hebrews 12:1–2 urges: Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He started your story. He’s still writing it. And He will finish it. So today, bury the “old you.” Bury the voice that says you’ll never change. And when your past tries to rise up again, tell it: That person died. I’m a new creation. Forgiven. Redeemed. Whole. In Jesus’ name. Because that’s the truth. And “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
And Remember, with God, nothing is impossible!
God bless you,
Dale Black