Happy Tuesday, friend! We’re excited to share Part 1 of our newest workshop in the LO Sister App, Goodbye Hiding, Hello Freedom, with you here on the blog. For more of this workshop, join us at losister.com. 🙂 Enjoy Part 1!

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“The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; Slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: And his tender mercies are over all his works.” Psalm 145:8-9

“We need to talk about our pasts…”

A conversation I dreaded having at one point in my life. My now husband, Ryan, and I were dating and things were getting serious. Heading toward what looked like an engagement, there were obvious conversations we needed to have. One of them obviously being our pasts. We each knew bits and pieces of each other’s history, but I had never actually gotten into the details of my past. With anyone. Even myself. It was an area that I avoided with every fiber of my being. But one that I knew if I wanted the future God had for me, I needed to face the past that haunted me.

So the question is: How do we deal with our past in a way that can bring healing and freedom?

First, we must understand what is holding us back from freedom when it comes to this area. We have to understand shame.

If I could give the spark notes version (I encourage you to read the entire story!), shame entered the Garden in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree – going against God’s command for them. Once they made that decision, making them realize they were naked and exposed, they turned away from God instead of running to Him. When we hide from God, we experience shame. Running away from God produces shame. Running to God produces freedom. Our direction dictates our freedom.

The problem with shame is that it doesn’t just fixate on what we’ve done. It convinces us that what we’ve done is actually who we are. It’s a lie attacking our truest identity.

So this shame…. What do we do with it?! And how can we get our freedom back?

Friend, we need to go back to our past. I know. It feels hard. It’s scary. And painful. And a million other things. BUT, I have good news for you.

You don’t have to go back to the past with the enemy. For years, this is why I never could find freedom from my past. It’s because I was going back with the wrong voices. I was going with the enemy. When we go back with him, the master of lies, he will continue to keep us replaying the same old mistakes over and over again, with no relief in sight.

No. Let’s not go back with him. Let’s go back with Jesus. The enemy wants to take us back to relive. Jesus wants to take us back to redeem. He can be trusted with the most vulnerable, delicate parts of you without putting you to shame.

Practically, what does this look like?

First, It looks like remembering that you have a choice on what you think on. For years, when I would get a flashback from my past, I wouldn’t fight it. I would just stay there. And relive. And rehash. And revisit without any truth. But Jesus gives us a better way. Paul, in his letter to the Church at Philippi gives us a beautiful framework on where our thoughts should be directed:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Next, it means bringing people into our shame. In God’s good design, He sends us people to walk with us. To know us. To hear us. To see us and pray for us. And to remind us that there’s freedom in Christ.

James, the brother of Jesus, puts it this way: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16). When we let people in, chains break and freedom starts to replace our shame, little by little, piece by piece. More on that later in the workshop!

Lastly, it means taking God at his word. Scripture gives us countless descriptions of who God is but one of my favorite verses on this is found is the Psalms. It says that, “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; Slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: And his tender mercies are over all his works.” Psalm 145:8-9

When we know that this is who our God is, we are way more likely to run to him and cry out “Abba, Father, with you and only you can I truly be set free.”

As you’ll learn through my story throughout this workshop, Jesus took a girl who thought she would forever be marked and covered by the shame of her past, and has offered her more freedom than she ever knew was possible. If He’s done it for me, he can (and wants to!) do it for you.

So girl, if you want freedom, go back with Jesus and let him do what he’s best at: taking the hardest moments of our past and redeeming it in a way only he can. He will redeem spaces, friendships, memories, hometowns, fatherhood, family, and more. You name it, He can redeem it.

Morgan Krueger is a Jesus follower, wife, mother, and author who found her voice connecting with women seeking freedom from the brokenness of past shame. Her first book, Goodbye Hiding, Hello Freedom: Trading Your Shame for Redemption in Jesus, is out now. In her downtime, you can find Morgan enjoying the significance of the mundane, including spending time with her two sons, encouraging women through words and watching British baking shows with her husband, Ryan, in Franklin, TN. You can connect with her on Instagram @morganwkrueger and at morgankrueger.com.