When someone has an abortion, there can be a distinct before and after in their lives. Many express regret and remorse. Often feeling as if they have committed an unforgivable sin, they resign themselves to a less-than-life. Yet, God is in the restoration business. He longs to restore and redeem all the enemy has stolen.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19
For each person struggling with a past abortion decision, the Lord wants to do a new thing in their lives. He wants to bring them from the land of devastation to a place teeming with life. We are not our past circumstances nor our thoughts and feelings. Walking in forgiveness from God is a restoration of our true identity. When we live with our identity solely rooted in the truth of Jesus Christ, we will live as the person He intended for us to live.
Perusing the Scriptures, we read from history how God has called out the true identities of His creation. Here are just a few examples:
Abraham – from childlessness to father of many nations
Gideon – from hiding in fear from the Midianites to Mighty Warrior
David – from having a wandering heart to a man after God’s own heart
Peter – from a brash, emotional man to a steady rock on which Christ built His church
Paul – from a persecutor of Christians to a great apostle who wrote over half of the New Testament
Samaritan Woman – from a woman hiding in shame to a bold evangelist
Zacchaeus – from a tax collector lacking integrity and taking from others to a man with great integrity and generosity
Rahab – from a prostitute to a woman of honor through whom King David and Jesus descended
Joseph – from being rejected by family and being a prisoner to being the second in command of Egypt
Through Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, God can and will restore the true identities of those who come to Him fully abandoned.
Abortion is not the end of their story. It’s not their identity. It was an experience, but their lives do not have to be defined by that one decision. God wants to do a new thing in and through their lives. May we be messengers of hope.
Portion taken from All Things New: Finding New Life Through Forgiveness. To purchase a copy, click HERE or purchase through Amazon HERE.
