Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Recently when disturbing memories came to my mind, the following was brought to my mind by the Holy Spirit and when I thought of that from the Holy Spirit sadness turned to rejoicing.
Romans 8:28-29 ...And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Sometimes things look wrong and we are sad we did something or said something but even that is not always wrong. (and even then, when we are called according to HIS purpose it works together for good)
I was reminded of Samson and how wrong he looked but all the time what he did was of God.
Judges 14 ... concerning Samson ... And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 2And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 3Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 4But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
There was a call of God on the life of Samson and God was going to structure things according to HIS purpose.
Did all things work together for good in the life of Samson? Yes. Those things that seemed wrong and caused harm to Samson were of God because it was through Samson that God was going to destroy Philistines.
When I heard Romans 8:28-29 as a result of having bad memories, I saw even those things I regret doing in past cause me to be, in part, what I am today in doing the will of God according to my calling.
When we understand all things work together for good and are even used to help mold us into that personality which God wants for our respective work in HIM, the bad memories flee as we think of how even the bad brings us to the position of the call of God according to HIS purpose.
Paul persecuted the Christians. Surely those memories of what he had done troubled Paul. But Paul learned to deal with the memories and refused to entertain them when they came. He knew he could not go forward in the things of God and think of what he had done in the past.
Paul explained: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: Phil. 3
Paul is probably saying, "As many as have been made perfect by Christ" be thus minded. We are made perfect by Christ and by HIS blood.
And when we are called of God all things (even the "bad" things) work together for good to bring us to the place where we are going to act according to the purpose of God.