I Don’t Live There Anymore
Why Your Past Has No Authority Over Your Beloved Identity
Your Old Address Isn’t Your Identity
I saw a line recently that made me laugh out loud —
partly because it was funny,
and partly because it was deeply true:
“Trying to hurt me by bringing up my past is like trying to rob my old house. That ain’t my stuff and I don’t live there anymore.”
There’s a joyful, holy defiance in that statement.
Because the enemy loves bringing up “old addresses.”
Old failures.
Old labels.
Old identities.
Old rooms filled with old shame.
Old versions of us that felt so permanent at the time.
But here’s the truth:
God moved you.
Love relocated you.
Grace changed your zip code.
You are no longer the person you were when fear was your landlord
and shame paid the rent.
God Does Not Bring Up What He Has Buried
Psalm 103:12 tells us:
“He has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.”
That’s not poetry.
That’s geography with a purpose.
East and west never meet.
They never cross paths.
They never circle back to find each other.
God didn’t misplace your sins —
He separated them from you so completely
that they cannot be used as evidence
against your beloved identity.
So if the enemy brings up your past,
or someone else brings it up,
or your own mind brings it up…
Just remind yourself:
You’re trying to break into an empty house.
I don’t live there anymore.
The Beloved lives here now.
Your Past Self Was Never Your True Self
Here’s where the humor becomes holy:
Your past self was never your real self.
It was your survival self.
The self who tried to get needs met outside of Love.
The self who didn’t yet know their worth.
The self who believed lies because they didn’t yet know Truth Himself.
Identity isn’t who you were at your lowest.
Identity is who you are in His love.
Beloved.
Seen.
Safe.
Held.
Chosen.
Freely forgiven.
Completely His.
Jesus isn’t in love with who you used to be —
He’s in love with who He created you to be
and who He is forming you into.
The Accuser Has a Bad Memory
The enemy is called the “Accuser,”
but he’s terrible at his job.
He keeps trying to deliver shame-mail
to an address that no longer exists.
He keeps trying to serve court papers
to a person who has already been acquitted.
He keeps trying to replay the old story
when Jesus already wrote a new ending.
You can smile at it now.
Because it’s ridiculous in the best way.
Freedom Isn’t Forgetting — It’s Relocating
You don’t have to pretend your past didn’t happen.
You just have to remember it no longer defines you.
You’ve moved.
Love moved you.
Jesus moved you into His own house,
His own heart,
His own identity.
He’s not ashamed of your past.
He’s not in love with a future version of you.
He’s in love with you now —
right here, right now —
at your new address in Grace.
Reflection
Where is the enemy trying to drag you back to an “old address”?
What shame-story still tries to forward its mail to your new identity?
How can you respond in truth, laughter, and belovedness?
Prayer