Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead . . . (Philippians 3:13)
Just as fire can be used to both build and destroy, so too memories. What you remember about your past can be used by God to build you up or take you down. Some memories will bring you pleasure and others pain. That is why you must treat your past like a school – learn the lesson, but don’t live there. Use your past like a springboard into your promised future, not a sofa to sleep on. Living in the “If only I had done . . . “ will keep you from living in the moment you have right now and keep you from being what God is calling you to be.
Listen, when you read through the Bible, you can see just how faithful God is to His people, especially when they are not faithful to Him. You see, it is God’s faithfulness to you, not your faithfulness to Him that keeps you secure in your saving relationship. God never failed His people no matter how they treated Him and He will never fail you. When you treat your past as a springboard and not a sofa, you are making it clear that you are trusting fully in God to use even your poor decisions, detours, and dead ends for His glory and your ultimate good.
Listen, your past does not equal your future. It is the devil that wants to remind you of your past to fill you to overflowing with regrets, fears, doubts, and hopelessness. The devil knows he cannot take you out of the hands of your Lord, but he sure can mess up your life along the way into glory, with gnawing guilt and relentless remorse. But this is not for you. Getting you’re your past is a choice we all must make. We need to choose to look to Jesus, listen to Jesus, and lean on Jesus, because He has promised to never leave or forsake us, no matter what we do.
Remember, God is not finished with you yet. You are a work in progress and along the way you will mess things up. Just keep looking to the One who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. When your past is a springboard and not a sofa, God will take every set-back and use it as a set-up for your cosmic come-back. Keeping that in view will empower all of us to keep getting past our past!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 