Monday, 23rd June, 2025
Bible Reading: Philippians 3: 13-14
Memory Verse: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3: 13-14 (NIV)
When Ginny Burton first touched meth (a form of hard drug) at age 12, no one could have predicted she would one day wear a graduation cap with honours. By 23, she was a “full-on, hardcore heroin addict,” cycling through prison cells and lost dreams. But something changed.
After her final arrest in 2012, she made a decision that would transform her life forever. She chose education. Walking into a community college classroom, surrounded by students’ decades younger than herself, she discovered something unexpected – her own potential.
From handcuffs to honour roll. From prison cells to political science. From rock bottom to graduating with honours from the University of Washington at 48. But here’s what makes her story truly powerful: She didn’t stop at her own success. Her mission became bigger than herself, pursuing further education to reform the very prison system she once knew from the inside.
Let this sink in: Your past is a place of reference, not a place of residence.
The next chapter of your story is still unwritten. And as Ginny proved – it’s never too late to pick up the pen. Don’t allow your past relegate your destiny to the past. Don’t ever allow your background put your life on the ground.
You can convert your misery to a ministry. Forge ahead gallantly. Your past is a building block in the quarry of the Almighty for that great destiny He has reserved for you. It doesn’t matter whether you are a drug addict, rapist, fornicator, armed robbery, or serial killer. Jesus is a destiny repairer. He has come that you may have life and life abundantly. Don’t be despaired. Dream again.
Now, all these are possibilities only to a surrendered soul. Have you truly surrendered your all to Christ? Only a past, and by extension, a life surrendered at His feet that becomes a giant tree. Then it can be fully written of you: The rejected stone has now become the chief cornerstone.
Surrender your life to Christ today.
Quote: Your past is a place of reference, not a place of residence. The next chapter of your story is still unwritten. It’s never too late to pick up again.
Prophetic Decree: By the authority that created the heaven and the earth, your past shall not ground your future, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Lord, I lay flat before you in absolute surrenderness. Use my past to your glory, in Jesus name.
2. O Lord, kill every appetite for sin, self, and the world, in Jesus name.
3. Today, I humbly accept Jesus as my Lord and personal Saviour, in Jesus name.
4. Destiny changer, change the narrative of my life from story to glory, in Jesus name.
5. Demonic magnet to past distractions in my yesterday, loose your grip over my life, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 12-14
