Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me. -Psalm 25:7
What we have done is not who we are.
Too often we allow our identity to be defined by our past failures or faults. We allow ourselves to be labeled by our past and that label becomes a core element of who we are. I had an abortion. I am divorced. I am a criminal. I am an addict. I am a sinner. Even after we have repented of our past and have received forgiveness, we still wear the label and still allow it to be part of our identity.
As David writes this psalm, he shows us how to call out to God for an identity reset. He asked God not to remember his past (which was full of sin & failure). Instead, he desperately calls out, "remember ME!" David wants to be seen by God (and to see himself) for who he truly is, not for what he has done.
When God looks at us, love causes him to see our true identity. He sees the perfect creature of beauty and purity that he made us to be. He doesn’t see the broken and bruised failure that our past defines. Instead, he sees us as the glorified and perfected child he is making us into.
The challenge is for us to see ourselves this way too. David's call to God is also a reminder to himself and to us to be present with God and allow how he sees us to be our true identity. There will always be people in our lives who want to remind us of our past failures and faults. But God is not one of them and we shouldn’t be either.
God has a glorious future he is bringing you toward. Live in that now-and-not-yet identity...not the identity of your failures.
Be present with God.
Make some time to be present with God. Ask God to reveal to you how he sees you. Listen as he comforts you with his love and assures you of his forgiveness. Ask God to give you the peace to live in the reality of your present identity in him. Ask him to allow you to live in that reality and leave behind your old labels. Thank him for the way he has made you aware of his presence in this time.
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