Through The Bible in a Year - May 27, 2026
"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple... Those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name, ‘They shall be mine,’ says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession." - Malachi 3:1, 16-17
"Where are you from?"
It's a common question. But it's not just about location—it's about background, roots, the things that shape you and break you and make you who you are.
A crowd-sourced poem called "Where I'm From" captures this: "I'm from casseroles and cantaloupe... from backyard baseball and Friday night football... from hard work and grit... from divorce and love thrown away... from starting again and hymns on Sundays."
Where we're from isn't just for remembering—it's key to the choices we make and what we anticipate. We live today based on the future we believe our foundations have set up.
The people of Israel were from a past filled with failure. Adam failed. Noah failed. Abraham, Moses, David—all failed in their responsibilities of providing for God’s people. Over and over, everyone fell short.
But Malachi—the very last prophet of the Old Testament—refuses to let the past determine how God’s people should live in the present or future. He speaks of hope not determined by the past as he points to a Messiah unlike leaders of the past: "He's coming. The Lord will suddenly appear after His messenger comes. And, when the Lord comes, he will make the people God’s treasured possession as our Lord always intended."
Malachi says that after centuries of waiting, a true Savior is finally on His way and the past will not keep him away.
For the Christian, the past never determines the future. I think of the testimony of a man who grew up in a jet-set family where divorce ruled. He wrote, "We cannot find a lasting marriage in 150 years of our family tree. I grew up convinced my life probably would not feature a lasting marriage. At no time did I ever feel I would live in a fulfilling and lasting family."
But then he went to a small church and saw couples who'd been married 10, 15, 20, even 30+ years. He writes: "They gave me a great gift. They liberated me from the expectations that my past would determine my future."
Hope will do that for you. Hope liberates from past failures, from bitterness, from anger, from insecurity, from the low expectations that keep us chained to the past. God wants you to live in that hope. Yes, learn from your failures. Acknowledge your sin. Recognize your need. But don't camp there.
When you trust in Jesus, your future is secure: You are God's treasured possession. He will spare you as a father spares his son. Your true Savior has come. He has washed you clean and made you precious. Your past does not determine your future. The future can really be different as you walk with him and he walks with you.
Respond: Where are you living—in your past or in your future?
If your identity is shaped primarily by what you've done wrong, where you've failed, what's been done to you, or what you've lost—you're living in the past. Jesus gives you the privilege of shifting your focus.
If you are Past-focused, your reality is shaped by thoughts like these: "I'm the person who failed at _____. I'm the one who was hurt by _____. I'm the product of a broken _____."
If you are Future-focused, your reality is shaped by thoughts like these: "I am God's treasured possession. My name is written in heaven. I am washed clean and made precious. I am secure in Christ. My future is with Him forever."
So, let me ask you, “’Where are you from?” Are you a creature of your past, or a child of God’s future? If you're in Christ, your heart's home is with Him now and forever. Live there. That’s where you are really from by the grace of God.
Prayer: Lord, I've been living too much in my past—defined by failures, hurts, losses, and sins. But You are calling me to live in my future. I am Your treasured possession. My Savior has come and secured my eternal home. He has washed me and refined me. Help me to learn from the past without being chained to it. Help me to live today based on the realities of the future You've promised—with hope, confidence, and joy. Where am I from? Keep me believing that my heart's home is with You now and forever. In Jesus' name, Amen.