Done There, Been That

Why is it we keep going back to places and situations we know are wrong in God’s eyes? We have heard the saying “been there, done that” but sometimes we keep going back and repeating bad mistakes. These mistakes come from our own desire to do wrong. These desires come from our past of what we have done or seen that seem fulfilling to us at the time; however, these desires will cause worse things to happen if we continue to give in to them.

James 1:14-15 “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

It’s time we said “done there, been that.” It’s time we look deeply at ourselves and ask God to help us move on so we know we are now done there. It’s time we make that dedication to God and to ourselves admitting that we have been that way but we are turning back to Him. We can give in to our desires or let God lead us from temptation and deliver us from evil so we can move forward instead of backward.

Moving forward gives us a chance to look back, see what we learned and find ways to make a difference from each experience. We need to ask God to help us to grow in that area. It may be learning self-control, patience, peace, contentment, love, responsibility or perseverance. We all have our areas we need to grow in. God can take our experiences and help us to learn from them and move on. We can only move on when we decide we are done with our selfish and sinful ways.

God is waiting for us to give it all to Him. He can remove our desires to sin. When we have the urge to do something, we can go to God and get past it. Urges are only temporary. When we feel angry and want to lash out, when we feel jealous and want revenge, when we feel lonely and want to do something crazy, we can stop and ask God to get us through that moment and He will. Whether it is the urge to drink, smoke or do bad things to our body. God will help us with our urges.

We all have experiences that either strengthen or weaken us. It is important that we get past those experiences and say done there, been that. When we decide that we are done in a part of our lives we need to leave behind, then we can move forward. We can learn from each experience and move on. Decide now that you have "been that" but you can change with God’s help. Know that with His help you will be "done there." Putting things behind us and moving on will help us be who God wants us to be.

Have you been there or are you done there? Have you done that or have you been that? Look at your life today. What mistakes are you repeating? What stories do you have to tell that others can learn from? What do you need to put behind you so you can move on and help others? Next time you have an urge to do something you know you shouldn’t, remember you are done there. You have been that. And God has a better plan for you.