You can make a beautiful future out of anything you have ever been through. God’s promise is true about giving you an expected end. He is bent on breaking records and protocol for you.
All you need to do is to dare to believe he can do it. You also need to stop judging yourself by your ugly past.
A beautiful future indeed awaits you. First, let me show you some great friends who were able to create a beautiful future despite an ugly past.
Let’s Meet Rahab
Rahab is not the typical lady you would want to fall in love with. She was a scarlet woman, one who makes ends meet by sleeping with men of different sizes and status.
She has the contacts of political leaders and first-hand information of what is happening in town. Rahab may have a strong reason for being a prostitute in the first place.
Yet, no reason is strong enough as an excuse for indulging in such kind of business. One day she saw a beautiful opportunity to stop trading her body for money.
The Israelites came to town to survey the wall of Jericho where she resided. Her people would do anything to kill the Israelites’ spies but she did everything to protect these young men.
Despite the view of the society on the type of job she does, residing in her is a beautiful heart. She protected the Israelite men from the attack of her people.
In exchange for this, her life and that of her relatives were spared when the Israelites eventually came to destroy the land on their way to the promise land.
One of the Israelite men ‘fell’ for her beautiful heart and married her.
The Israelites are forbidden from marrying from her nation not to talk of her line of business. Her case was different because she was instrumental to the Israelites getting to their promise land. She got a beautiful future in exchange for the ugly past.
Tamar’s past is an intriguing one
Tamar prostituted herself with her father-in-law Judah to get a child of her own.
Here’s the gist.
Tamar was first treated unjustly by her in-laws due to the death of her husband. She was sent packing, promising to call her back when her late husband’s brother is of marriageable age. The custom was for her to marry her brother-in law to raise children for her late husband.
She later discovered that she was deceived. Tamar decided to fight for herself by disguising like a harlot to seduce her father-in-law.
You need to get the full gist here.
When the people discovered what Tamar did, she was scorned and almost lynched. The issue is that she got pregnant through that illicit relation she had with her father-in-law.
She proved that the father of her unborn children (she had twins) is her father-in-law through undeniable evidences.
Her father-in-law (Judah) realized he had wronged her greatly by punishing her initially for what was not her fault. He accepted her set of twins, brought her back into his home not as a wife but as a daughter-in-law to wipe away her shame.
He never stopped thanking her for giving him kids whose lineage Jesus Christ emanated from. What a beautiful future.
Let me tell you about Ruth
A lot of times, we look down on people because they have a past the society is not proud of.
What would have become the fate of Ruth if Boaz had looked down on her because she was a widow? Her people were forbidden to be married to God’s people. This is because her ancestry is a product of incest between Lot and one of his daughters.
Ruth however had great virtues. She was hardworking and loving; little wonders she became the great grandmother of King David.
Why do you keep condemning the one God has forgiven? Why look down on a single parent as if she is worth nothing again?
Care to meet Bathsheba?
Bathsheba had an illicit affair with David. God forgave her and made her son king after the demise of King David.
Jesus told those that brought the adulterous woman for punishment to be the first to cast a stone against her if they were all without sin. Kindly read how to handle rejection and disappointment from those you love
There are prostitutes who are wallowing in their filthy lifestyles because they feel no one will ever love them.
Some were victims of rape while they were young; others were lured into it unconsciously. Few are even on a mission to spread HIV virus to any man available having contacted it via rape.
Until you hear their story, I dare you not to judge them. Have you tried reaching out to them with words of hope and love? Have you tried to help them re-trace their steps back to God?
For all the times you ‘prostituted’ by going after other gods or having lustful thoughts, God forgave you.
How to handle the ugly past
We do not love truly if we cannot love unconditionally like God. It does not matter if that lady has aborted before, she deserves to love and be loved again.
You may say it is not easy for you to reach out to prostitutes; your prayers for them will go a long way. You can also donate to NGOs that cater for prostitutes like the Real Woman Foundation and others.
Save a soul today, a future president or reformer may need to be brought forth by that prostitute you’re condemning.
We need more men like Boaz, Salmon (Rahab’s husband) and Prophet Hosea who will love their spouses deeply and wholly despite their ugly past.
The one with the ugly past however must show willingness and be ready to embrace a beautiful future. It may require that she leaves behind the environment she is used to for a new one.
The future is indeed beautiful with God fully inside of it.
Women whose stories are shared above had to embrace the living God to access the beautiful future.
That woman may be a prostitute today but her creator may need her to bless destinies tomorrow.