Laying Behind the Old & Receiving the New

2 Cor 5:17
17 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
NLT

This scripture tells me that I am a new person, not the same anymore, for my old life (old feelings, thoughts, & identity) is gone. I have a new life and identity!

Wouldn’t it be great if I could freely accept my new life & identity and have the old just disappear? Often times, though, there is action required on my part to lay behind the old and receive the new.

I’ve been in a season where God has allowed me to come face-to-face with some old feelings and thoughts about myself. I’ve also seen how much of my identity has been based on these old feelings and thoughts. Of course, this old identity doesn’t match up with what God’s Word says about who I am in Christ.

A couple years ago I taught women’s Sunday school class based on Neil Anderson’s book titled “Victory Over Darkness.” Chapter 4, “Something Old, Something New” describes that I need to believe that my new identity is in the life of Christ and commit myself to grow accordingly. I need to believe this regardless of how I feel or think about myself.

In preparing to teach Chapter 4, God gave me a ceremony to have the ladies perform in class. The ceremony, which I called “Discarding the Old & Putting on the New Celebration”, involved ladies writing on 3x5 index cards old man feelings, thoughts, or other old man stuff that they wanted to get rid of. The ladies were then invited to come forward, rip the cards up, and throw them in a box, which became known as the old man coffin box. The ladies had the option of sharing with the class what they were tossing away, or privately sharing with me, or not sharing at all. After they ripped and tossed the cards away, they received a love shawl and were prayed for.

About a month ago, I felt the Lord calling me to go through the Discarding the Old & Putting on the New Celebration since I have never done this. I invited four of my closest friends to my house last week to be a part of the celebration. I asked one of them to make me a love shawl and another one to lead the celebration.

As I prepared for the celebration, God revealed specific old man feelings and thoughts that I was to share and toss away. These were things in my life that remained in the dark until God shined His light on them, exposed them, and now it was time for me to lay them down.

My friends all arrived and it was time to begin the celebration. Pound! Pound! My heart began racing as I began to open my mouth and share. I shared the most difficult thing first, ripped up the paper, and tossed it into the old man coffin box. I began to move onto the next, when the prayer leader asked if we could stop and have them all pray for me. I said “yes”. They all came over to me, laid hands on me, and prayed for me. Tears came pouring out as they prayed. Half a box of tissues later we moved onto the next thing. I felt a sense of liberation with each thing that I shared, ripped up, and tossed. There were no more index cards in my hands. Everything that the Lord led me to share I had shared.

My friend who made me the love shawl came over and wrapped me in it. They all laid hands on me again and prayed a blessing over me. After prayer, one of my other friends indicated that she had something for me. She went and got another love shawl that she had made. She explained that she was led by the Lord to make me one too. She said that this love shawl symbolizes that I’m washed white as snow by the blood of the Lamb and that I’m God’s girl.

The last thing we did as part of the celebration was to place everything that I ripped up in a paper bag and burnt it. As I watched the torn pieces of my old life burning in front of me, I felt a sense of liberation and that it was time to accept and walk in my new life in Christ. After all the pieces were burnt, I stomped on the ashes and said to myself “it is finished, time to walk in the new!”

It has been a little over a week since I went through the Discarding the Old & Putting on the New Celebration. I can honestly say that I feel like a new creation in Christ, I’ve come to know deep in my heart that God truly loves me unconditionally and that He will never leave nor forsake me, and that I’m always God’s girl. I comfortable with being me now and I don’t have to hide behind a mask and pretend to be someone else. I am truly walking in my new life!

To my four friends that participated in the celebration, thank you for being there for me, loving me, and listening to me. I truly love you all and may we continue to grow together in Christ.