Thursday, March 5, 2026

Bible in a Year: Psalms 75-77 | Acts 28

There was a season when I believed I had outgrown certain parts of myself.

I had done the hard work. I had closed old doors and bagged up the “clothes” of hyper-independence, defensiveness, and control. Those were the comfort clothes I once wore when life was marked by hurt and shame. I tied those bags tight and set them out to the curb, convinced they were gone for good.

Then pressure hit.

It didn’t just knock politely; it pushed the door wide open. And before I knew it, those old bags were sitting in the middle of the healed version of me.

That’s when I learned something humbling: growth doesn’t mean the old clothes disappear. It means I have a choice about what I put on.

We love Jesus. We are chosen. Forgiven. Made new.

But when we’re misunderstood, overlooked, or offended, we still feel the pull.

Protecting ourselves at all costs, we withdraw.

And when we slip, we often turn on ourselves. “I should be further along.”

The enemy wants us defeated. He wants us to put the old clothes back on and then punish ourselves for wearing them.

God’s voice is different. He tells us, “You don’t live there anymore.”

One leads to condemnation.

The other leads to transformation.

Colossians 3:12-13
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Colossians 3 reminds us that because we have been chosen and loved, we have been fitted with a new wardrobe. This is identity alignment.

We’ve been raised to new life, and we are no longer required to respond the way we once did, even when others do. 

Choosing differently means making allowance for our humanity. 

Forgiving as we’ve been forgiven.

Asking, “Does this response look like Jesus?”

It doesn’t mean we don’t feel hurt. It means hurt doesn’t get the final word.

You and I have a new wardrobe now. Every conversation, conflict, and frustrating moment is an opportunity to put it on intentionally.

We respond differently because we belong to Jesus.

And when we choose to dress in who we’ve become and who he is intentionally shaping us to be, we carry his presence and we reflect his love.

Questions: 
What “old clothes” do you instinctively reach for when you feel pressured, misunderstood, or hurt? (Control? Withdrawal? Defensiveness? Proving a point?)

Whose voice are you listening to in those moments - condemnation or transformation?

What would it look like for you to “dress” in tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience in a situation you’re currently facing?

Next Steps: 
Before responding to the next frustrating text, email, or conversation, pause for 10 seconds and silently ask: “What am I about to put on?”

Then, intentionally choose one “new garment,” mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, or patience. Let that guide your tone and words.

Small pauses create space for his presence.

Prayer: 
Father, thank you for choosing me and loving me. Thank you that my identity is not rooted in my old patterns, but in who you say I am.

When pressure exposes old instincts, remind me that I don’t live there anymore. Silence the voice of condemnation that tells me I haven’t changed. Help me recognize it for what it is.

Today, I choose to clothe myself in mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Teach me to pause before I speak. Teach me to make allowance for others the way you have made allowance for me.

When I feel hurt, help me remember that hurt does not get the final word, you do.

Align my responses with my identity. Let the way I show up reflect Jesus. Let others see that you are alive within me.

I belong to you. Help me dress like it. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:
Colossians 3:10
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

This post was written by Monique Myers, a Perrysburg attendee and regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.