You don't have to be bound by the barriers of the past. God wants you to go further than your parents. I'm sure your parents were fine, hardworking people, but don't fall into that trap of just sitting back and accepting the status

When you base your value on what other people say or do to you, that's going to push you down. But when you base it on what God says about you, it's going to lift you up to the next level.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18—19

You are who God says you are. Remove the old labels. I'll give you new labels to wear: "giant killer," "history maker," "world changer.

Being offended, upset, and frustrated over what didn't work out will only keep you in mediocrity. It's time to drop it and move forward. You may be a product of your past, but you don't have to be a prisoner of your past.

People can call you many different things, but you are not what people call you. You are what you answer to. They can call you slow, lazy, too old. That's all right. Just don't answer to it. Answer to "victorious," "talented," "history maker." If you'll do this, I believe and declare, today is going to be a turning point. The bondages from the past are no longer going to have any effect on you.

TODAY'S THOUGHT You may have failed in some area of your life—we all have—but you're not a failure. You may have had some bad breaks, but you are not a victim. You are who God says you are.

You weren't created to get stuck, to settle and stay at the same place year after year. You

Just because it happened one way doesn't mean it's always going to happen that way. Stay open for change. Be willing to accept the new thing God is doing.

How much space are you giving to guilt, to shame, to regret, to being against yourself? Whatever it is, it's too much. You need that space for the good things God has for you that will move you toward your destiny. If you're giving space to guilt, you will not have the confidence you need to move forward, which will cause you to fail again. It's a negative cycle. The only way to break the cycle is to

You're no longer a slave, you're a son. You used to be a slave to fear, to addictions, to poverty, to depression, but you've been born into a new family and a new life.

You have to forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Don't let the hurts, the bad breaks, the times you were taken advantage of sour the rest of your life, cause you to live with a chip on your shoulder. God knows how to vindicate you. He knows how to pay you back.