Forget About The Past

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert Isaiah 43: 18, 19.

Yesterday is history. It is gone forever. No matter how much hard we wish or how many regrets we grieve over, we cannot go back and change a thing. We cannot relive one second of it. It may be possible in the movies, but not in real life. God deals with real life.

You see, what is done is done, and it’s not going to vanish. Our past experiences may have taught us a lot, or we may have learned nothing at all. We have undoubtedly been shaped by the choices we made, both bad and good. We may have been knocked down, pushed down or fallen on our own. But hopefully something deep inside of us made us get up and keep on going. God has something for us, and we cannot allow the past to stop us from getting it.

There are things I did that I will never do again. There were things that people did to me that caused me anguish and tribulation in my life. But I cannot worry about that now. I am trying to receive the good things that God has in store for those that love Him, and I have no room for extra baggage. I’m traveling light. "... forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Philippians 3: 13,14.

God doesn’t want us to remember the past if it distorts our vision of the bright and promising future He has in store for us today. Past memories can be tormenting. It can make us angry, fretful, resentful and depressed. It can zap our self-confidence and leave us in a situation where we expect to fail. So many of us are drained emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually; we are stuck in a rut. God does not want us feeling this way.

There is a difference between what happened to us and who we are right now. We are shaped and changed by our past, but we are not stuck there. Who we were yesterday does not dictate who we have the potential to become today. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us Hebrews 12:1.Jesus said that if the Son makes us free, that we would be free indeed see John 8:36. That means we are free from everything, including our past.

Some things in our life were just beyond our control, and other things are consequences of our own actions and behavior. But regardless, we’ve got to press on in Christ Jesus.

My past is full of good and bad. I savor the best, but I’ve got to let go of the rest. That’s not always easy to do. To this present day I struggle with self-confidence. It’s hard sometimes to trust my ability. I don’t remember how I picked that up, but it’s a hill that I climb all the time. And when we doubt our ability, it’s hard to see our potential. And when we can’t see our potential, we question our worth.

Yet there was never a question in the mind of God about our worth. We are priceless to Him. We may not be wealthy, affluent, and we may not always make the right decisions. But God loves us anyway. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28

For I know the thought I think toward you saith the Lord; thoughts of peace, not of evil; to give you an expected end Jeremiah 29:11. God wants to give us hope and a future. Hope means that I am expecting something good. I am filled with anticipation and focused on the possibility of big dreams.

We cannot live without hope. Hope helps us deal with modern day adversity. When the odds stack up against us, hope helps us fight on and conquer.

Without hope we would go and hide in a corner. We would drop out of life, and spend out time watching soap opera, talk shows and the news. We would become increasingly negative and not be able to see the good things God is sending our way. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when desire is filled, it is a well of life Proverbs 13:12.

Hope is very powerful. It helps us hold on, and gives us a determination to make it. It is amazing what we can go through if we have hope. Whatever the situation is that we are dealing with, there is hope in God.

There are some lies that we hear all the time that can destroy our hope. It’s been said that if you make your bed hard, you got to lie in it. Don’t believe that. You may be in a pit, but you can get up and get out. Don’t stay there; move on to something better. If you made a hard bed, get another one.

I’ve heard that opportunity only knocks once, but each new day is full of possibility. I have missed some opportunities and messed up some others, but today I am believing God for incredible things.

I’ve heard that your reputation follows you wherever you go, but Psalms 23 says that His goodness and mercy follows me. We all have made bad choices, but thank God we can redeem ourselves. There is life after addiction, promiscuity, divorce and pornography. New choices build a new life.

I am so glad we serve a God of grace and compassion. He gives us so many chances to get it right. We are not just victims of circumstances; we are responsible for the choices we make. But through Christ Jesus, we can make it.

(Reference When Your Past s Hurting Your Future By: Sue Augustine. Harvest House Publishing).