Sir: So many people in life are imprisoned by their past. Oftentimes, thoughts fester in our minds. Memories of past pain and what-have-you usually flash through our minds. Things from the past often hold their grip on our lives. Mistakes linger in our minds and hearts. Events from yesterday hurt and shift into our present day, never allowing us the freedom to fully move forward. Sometimes, the hardest person to forgive is the one staring back at us in the mirror.
Oftentimes, we know the ones that cling and seem to follow us wherever we go. The ones we try to forget. The ones that raise their ugly heads at unexpected moments, reminding us of where we’ve come from, such as: rejected, fearful, anxious, addicted, adulterous, depressed, unstable, sick, weak, lonely, failure, abused, neglected.
God will never forgive you for what you did… though we know the truth that we’ve been set free in Christ. Some labels are written in an ink that seems almost permanent. They’re not easily washed away by a good thought, an encouraging word, or a well-intentioned verse. They stick to us like a label—an open door for the enemy’s voice to whisper lies deep down to our souls.
“Remember who you are,” his condemning voice hisses, heaping on more shame and guilt. “Remember where you’ve come from, remember what you’ve done. You’ll never change. You’ll never be any different.” Crafty, master deceiver of lies, whose constant goal is to remind us of every failure and every negative label that has ever attached itself to our lives. Lies. All lies.
We know the truth. We know not to listen to the lies. And yet, too often, we slowly allow the labels to remain. Often, we are prisoners of our past.
We don’t have to live that way. These labels that attempt to define us are either stuck there by life circumstances. The labels and mistakes of our past do not determine the reality of our future.
There’s a different voice that whispers, full of hope, forgiveness, and love. God is always interested in giving us a fresh start.
This reminds me of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, telling them that he did not see himself as having fully apprehended, but one thing he did: to forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead. Paul knew that focusing on and remembering past pains, defeat, and unpleasant circumstances can hinder the new things God wants to do in his life, both in the present and in the future.
This reminds me of the story of one of the most prominent Christian voices of this age, Paula White. Paula White’s early life was shaped by deep emotional pain and instability that left lasting scars.
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and later raised in a broken home, she experienced family disruption at a very young age. Her parents divorced when she was still a child, and this separation created an atmosphere of insecurity, emotional neglect, and confusion that followed her into adolescence.
Growing up, White struggled with feelings of abandonment, low self-worth, and inner turmoil. The absence of a stable family structure exposed her to influences and environments that were unsafe. She has openly testified that during her childhood and teenage years, she was exposed to severe emotional trauma and sexual abuse—experiences that deeply wounded her sense of identity and trust. These traumatic events left her battling anger, fear, shame, and depression for many years.
As a teenager, the weight of unresolved pain pushed her into destructive patterns, including rebellion and emotional isolation. By her own account, she felt lost, broken, and disconnected from purpose. The trauma she endured did not disappear with time; instead, it shaped her inner struggles and affected her relationships and self-image well into adulthood.
Despite the devastation of her early years, White’s story did not end in defeat. She has often emphasised that her painful childhood became the backdrop against, which transformation later occurred.
The wounds that once threatened to destroy her ultimately became the testimony she uses to encourage others who are battling similar pain. Her journey reflects a central message she frequently shares: trauma does not have to define a person’s future.
Here are 11 verses for living free, straight from God’s Word:
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” — John 8:36; “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32; “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9; “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” — Isaiah 43:1; “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” — John 10:10; “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” — Philippians 1:6; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” — Jeremiah 29:11; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17; “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1;
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the East is from the West, so far has he removed our transgression from us.”
“But one thing I do, forgetting those things, which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are not ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:12.
There is more for you, on the other side of your past. If you woke up this morning, you’re still living and breathing, and that means God has purpose in store. We will never be able to fully embrace all that He has for us in life today, and for the future, if we can’t let go of the things from yesterday.
And so make the choice, that you are going to break up from your past. You will not allow it to rule your thoughts. You won’t let it dictate your future. Make a choice that you will choose to let the power of Christ remove the old labels.
God bless you.
Tobiloba Ahmed wrote from Lagos.
