Mummy No More

He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him go." John 11:44 (NAS)

My hope shattered, a crystal vase on cement, after a publishing company I longed to work for rejected my manuscript. Voices of doubt and discouragement tormented me.

Later that week I read the story of Lazarus and pondered how often we allow ourselves to be bound by the wrappings of our former selves, falling easily into old thought patterns and habits. We hear the worn-out record in our heads—you can't do that. You're not smart enough, and so on. Jesus said of Lazarus, "Unbind him and let him go.”

He says that to us still. He freed us from every hindrance that interferes with realizing His perfect plan for our lives. We are limited only by the bindings we choose to put back on. Like Lazarus whom He loved, He loves us and has cleansed us from the bondage of past sins, self-doubt and defeatist attitudes. We are to put on the new self, rejoice in Him who has raised us and go out in confidence to accomplish the tasks He has for us.

God’s word has bolstered me. Perhaps I will persevere, click “submit” and send my story on its way to another publisher after all.

Be encouraged to give the old rags that suffocate and immobilize back to Christ and allow Him to throw them into the holy fire of His redemption. With renewed joy put on the new clothes of His righteousness.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that through Your precious Son, Jesus, we are made new, no longer bound by the rags of our old lives. Amen.

© 2012 Bonnie Mae Evans