Leave The Past Behind
“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
Writing to the Philippians, Paul stressed the importance of forgetting the past and focusing on the future.
It’s like trying to drive forward and yet focusing on your rear-view mirror. It’s a recipe for an accident.
“One of the reasons God doesn’t like us focusing on the rear-view mirror is because He knows that we are good at beating ourselves up with past failures.
It’s not that we really didn’t fail. It’s not that there wasn’t damage done. It’s not even that there is no debt incurred. We did and there was. The problem is that when we dwell on our past sin and when we beat ourselves up with our failures we usually believe that in some way we are making amends for them. As if basking in our guilt will be payment enough for our mistake.
The truth from God is that we need to receive the grace of God which brings forgiveness and changes life entirely.
It is this which enables a person to go through life without fearing that the past will catch up with him, always glancing in the rear-view mirror of life wondering what back there is about to pounce.
The Bible says that God made Jesus Christ to be sin on our behalf so that we might be made the righteousness of God. It is an exchange, motivated by the love and care of God.
That means that what happened in the past, the focus of the rear-view mirror of your life, ceases to exist in the mind of God, who has forgiven you. It is only there as a specter to haunt you.
This fact is predicated on your willingness to confess that wrong from the past and to accept the promise of the Father that He will forgive you and put the wrong forever out of His mind.
Yet, some people are never convinced in spite of the fact that they personally have the word of Him who created the heavens and the earth. Same way they tend to think that they are not good enough, or that the promises don’t extend to them.
The Good News is that God is no respecter of persons. The promises of His Word clear the record, allowing you to forget the past and focus on the future, reaching forth for the wonderful things which God has provided.
If you were to answer the question, “Would God lie?” you would probably say, “Not at all!” Then why not accept what He says about your life and get on with it? Forget the rear-view mirror and get on with road that lies ahead.