Hic Ups and hang ups

Devotional

Day 1: The Monkey’s Fist Clenched Around Yesterday’s Fruit

When we cling to past hurts or perceived rights, we become trapped like monkeys refusing to release fruit stuck in a jar. Our grip on old wounds, anger, or bitterness keeps us anchored to what God told us to leave behind. Freedom comes when we unclench our fists and release what we falsely believe we deserve. Holding onto offenses doesn’t punish others—it imprisons us in cycles of resentment. True joy begins when we stop fighting to keep what’s poisoning our present. [33:31]

“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, ESV)

Reflection: What “fruit” have you been clutching—a hurt, grudge, or old identity—that God is asking you to release? How might your clenched fists be blocking your hands from receiving what He wants to give today?

Day 2: Backpacks Full of Stones From Roads Already Traveled

We drag yesterday’s regrets, shame, and failures like stones in a backpack, slowing our progress toward freedom. Condemnation whispers that our past defines us, but Christ’s blood erases labels. Like a gardener pruning dead branches, God invites us to drop what’s weighing us down so new growth can flourish. Our stories aren’t erased—they’re redeemed when we stop letting old stones bruise our shoulders. [44:48]

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
(Psalm 103:12, ESV)

Reflection: Which “stone” in your backpack—a failure, mistake, or season of shame—do you struggle to believe God has truly removed? What step could you take today to symbolically lay it down?

Day 3: Rearview Mirrors Smaller Than Windshields For A Reason

A car’s rearview mirror stays small so drivers focus on the road ahead, not what’s behind. Yet we fixate on past betrayals, losses, or disappointments until they blur our view of God’s new work. Joseph’s story shows how glancing back at pain can become wisdom for navigating forward—if we refuse to live in reverse. Today’s mercies wait beyond the horizon of yesterday’s heartbreaks. [01:01:05]

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 3:13-14, ESV)

Reflection: What scene in your “rearview mirror” demands too much of your attention? How might shifting your gaze to Christ’s promises ahead change how you drive through today?

Day 4: Porch Pirates Can’t Steal What’s Already Indoors

The enemy prowls like a thief trying to snatch God’s promises left on the doorstep of an unopened heart. When we harden ourselves with bitterness or distrust, we leave grace packages vulnerable to theft. But forgiveness moves truth from porch to soul—securing hope where thieves can’t reach. Like Stephen praying for his killers, we disarm thieves by bringing wounds indoors to God’s healing light. [48:47]

“And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
(Acts 7:60, ESV)

Reflection: What hurt have you left “on the porch” where it’s vulnerable to theft? How could inviting Christ into that pain today change its power over you?

Day 5: God’s Backspace Key Redeeming Typed Regrets

Like an old typewriter forcing restarts over typos, shame insists our mistakes define the whole story. But God’s mercy works like a backspace key—not erasing our past, but redeeming misspelled moments into testimonies. Peter’s denials became launchpads for boldness; our failures can become ink for God’s greater narrative. Every scar surrendered becomes a line in His restoration psalm. [01:07:46]

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
(1 Peter 5:10, ESV)

Reflection: What “typo” in your story do you need to trust God’s redeeming backspace with? How might your mess become a message when handed over to His editing grace?

Sermon Summary

The image of the little monkey with his fist stuck in the bottle sets the whole issue plainly: what looks like a right to hold on can become the very thing that traps. Hiccups and hangups are those irritations, hurts, failures, and old knots in life that keep a person from reaching the freedom Christ bought with his blood. The thief in John 10:10 comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and one of his tricks is keeping a hand closed around anger, pain, offense, or shame. Jesus comes that people may have life and have it to the full, but that “may” still calls for a choice: Christ gives life, and a person must choose whether to believe him and whether to let go of what keeps life cramped.

Isaiah 43 says, “forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” The text does not call for amnesia, and it does not pretend the hurt never happened. God tells his people not to make a home back there. The word “dwell” carries the idea of settling down, staying in one spot, and making that place a permanent address. God does not want a temporary season to become a permanent residence. The past may be part of a story, and it may have shaped a person, but it was never meant to be the title of the book.

Joseph shows what that looks like. His brothers intended harm, and Joseph did not clean that up or act like it was nothing. Genesis 50:20 lets him say it straight: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” Joseph refused to let the wound have the final word. Bitterness could have been his address, but God made him better instead of bitter.

Failure also has to lose its claim on identity. Romans 8:1 says there is now no condemnation for those in Christ. Conviction says what was done is wrong and calls a person back to God; condemnation says a person is hopeless and should stay away. Peter denied Christ three times, but Jesus restored him three times, because God does not rip the page out and throw the life away.

Stephen shows the freedom of release. Forgiveness does not say the wrong was okay, and it does not mean trust has to be handed back with no boundaries. Forgiveness releases the offender out of human hands and places the situation into God’s hands. God calls a person to stop living in yesterday, because this is the day the Lord has made.

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Key Takeaways

1. Let go of the fruit The monkey trap shows how a closed hand can turn desire into bondage. Anger, offense, and old pain may feel deserved, but the right to hold them can still steal joy. Freedom begins when the hand opens and the thing that looked valuable loses its power to keep a soul tied down. [33:31]
2. The past is not home Isaiah’s word “dwell” presses deeper than remembering; it means settling down and making an address there. A wound can be real without becoming the place a person lives. God does not deny the past, but he refuses to let a temporary season become a permanent residence. [53:37]
3. Failure is not identity Condemnation names a person by the fall, but conviction calls a person back to God. Peter’s denial did not make Jesus throw him away, and failure does not have to become the title of a life. Repentance does not erase the need for change, but it does open the door for restoration instead of despair. [62:01]
4. Forgiveness places it in God’s hands Stephen’s prayer while stones were still flying shows that forgiveness is not denial. Forgiveness does not say the wrong was okay, and it does not always remove boundaries or consequences. Forgiveness releases the case out of human hands so God can judge, heal, and free the heart from yesterday’s control.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[22:09] - Opening Prayer and Transition
[31:44] - Hiccups, Hangups, and Hidden Traps
[32:09] - The Monkey Trap Illustration
[37:45] - The Thief and the Full Life
[40:18] - Making Room for the New
[41:07] - Forget the Former Things
[43:48] - Stop Living Backward
[46:01] - Past Hurts and Hardened Hearts
[52:37] - The Past Cannot Be Prison
[55:55] - Joseph Chose Better Over Bitter
[61:30] - Failure Is Not Identity
[64:28] - Conviction Versus Condemnation
[68:47] - Release Hurts to Receive Freedom
[71:16] - Stephen and the Power of Forgiveness
[74:12] - Altar Call and Prayer of Release

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Isaiah 43:18-19
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” [41:15]

John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” [37:45]

Genesis 50:20
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” [58:38]

Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” [01:04:21]

Observation questions

In Isaiah 43:18-19, what two commands are given about the past, and what does God say He is doing instead? [41:19]
In John 10:10, what are the thief’s goals, and what does Jesus say He came to give? [38:13]
In Genesis 50:20, how does Joseph describe both his brothers’ intention and God’s intention in the same event? [58:42]
What picture is given through the monkey trap, and what was keeping the monkey from getting free? [33:21]

Interpretation questions

Isaiah says not to dwell on the past. How is “dwelling” on the past different from honestly remembering what happened? [53:39]
Jesus says He came so people may have life to the full. Why can a person still miss that fullness even when Christ has already provided it? [39:43]
Joseph says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” How does that help a person face real hurt without pretending the hurt was small? [59:30]
Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those in Christ. How can a group tell the difference between condemnation that drives a person away from God and conviction that draws a person back? [01:04:41]

Application questions

What is the “fruit in the bottle” right now—anger, offense, shame, regret, or something else—that has felt justified to hold onto, but has really been keeping the heart stuck? [33:40]
Has any past hurt become too much like an address instead of a chapter? What would it look like this week to stop visiting that place in the mind over and over again? [54:22]
Has a past failure started to feel like an identity? Where is there a need to say, “That is something that happened, but it is not who I am in Christ”? [01:08:00]
Is there a place where condemnation has been whispering, “Stay away from God”? What would it look like to answer that lie by turning back to God instead of hiding? [01:05:05]
Is there someone whose actions still seem to control today’s peace? What might it mean to release that person from human hands and place the whole situation into God’s hands? [01:11:52]
Where are healthy boundaries still needed, even while forgiveness is being offered? How can forgiveness and wisdom walk together in that situation? [01:13:07]
“This is the day the Lord has made.” What would rejoicing in today look like in one practical choice over the next few days? [01:14:12]

Sermon Clips

45s

#ReleaseToGod

“``There's a difference in remembering what happened and living in what happened. You can remember what happened to you without still bleeding from it, the womb that was given to you. Then the way we do that is releasing it to God. Someone may have done horrible things to you in the past, But if you're still gonna hold on to it, they're still controlling. They may be dead and gone, but they're controlling you from the grave. Until you let it go, you're trapped.”

46s

#ForgivenessFrees

“Past failures, past hurts are all things we need to release. Sometimes it may be what someone else did to us. Someone may have betrayed you. Someone may have lied about you. Someone may abandon you. Someone may have abused your trust. Someone may have said something that hurts you deeply. And if we're not careful, we'll hold on to those things and never let them go. But carrying unforgiveness doesn't punish the person who hurt you. It imprisons you.”

54s

#PastNotPrison

“So for god to do a new thing in your life, we cannot keep living in the old thing. If you want god to do a new thing in your life, you cannot keep living in the old thing. So number one, point number one, God does not want your past to become your prison. God does not want your past to become your prison. That's why he's saying forget those former things. And what he's talking about there is the bad negative things in the past. Do not dwell on the past because if you do that, if you never let go, you your past becomes your prison. You never walk in freedom. You're trapped there.”

65s

#MoveOnDontDwell

“Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. And that word dwell, it carries this the original original meaning of this word. It means the idea of remaining at one spot, settling down, or making that place your home. Some of us are still living in 1970 if that's when it happened to you. You never moved on. We need to move through things in life. Again, it's not saying that it never happened to you, but you have to release it so that you could begin healing from it and move on in life. God doesn't want that thing in your life to become a prison in your life where you stay there. So God's, is what God is saying, he says, don't build a permanent resonance in a temporary season in your life. Write that down. God does not want you to build a permanent resonance in a temporary season of your life.”

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Christian Fellowship Church🔹Pastor Scott Cheramie This sermon · AI assistant

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