Forgetting The Past

Here's something I wrote months ago and wasn't sure why. Now that I'm an official blogger, my prayer is that someone out there in cyberspace will hear Christ though this message. Enjoy!

Nesia
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Philippians 3:12-14 says "I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. FORGETTING THE PAST AND STRAINING TOWARD WHAT IS AHEAD. I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to life above."

Even in what the world would consider to be Paul’s depths of despair, he kept his eyes on Jesus. What an example of commitment to service! Picture yourself in jail cell...not a cell that exists today, but a cell that is damp...a cell where your floor is dirt. Limited light, an unmistakable odor of men who haven’t bathed in days. That’s what I imagine Paul’s living conditions to be like. Yet, while in prison, he not only gave thanks...he expressed joy, remained committed to serving Jesus, and continued to spread the gospel.

In our walk through life, many of us would say we have lived in our own personal prisons. Prisons of circumstance, hurt, deceit, unfaithfulness, adultery, abuse. I’d venture to say many of us didn’t give thanks or express joy. Many of us probably questioned why? I know I did. I’m a good person. How can this be happening to me? I don’t deserve this.

The truth is that when you choose to follow Jesus, your life is no longer your own. You become a new creation in him. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 tells us "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.

When you accept the Lord into your heart to become your personal savior, your sins are forgiven. 1 John 1:9 tells us if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The problem is we don’t always allow him to do the necessary cleansing. We try to pick and choose what we will let go of in our past. We hold onto baggage which can hinder us from focusing on Jesus.

Isaiah 43:18 tells us we must "forget the former things; do not dwell on the past". If the Lord is willing to forget our past, shouldn’t we allow ourselves to do the same?

I believe there are three things as Christians we must do to forget the past. The first is to confront the past. When you suppress the past, you are unable to live in the present and cannot focus on the future. In essence, your strength as a Christian is stifled and you are unable to honor Christ in your daily walk because you are spending the majority of time shuffling the skeletons in your closet.

By not confronting the past, double-mindedness sets in. You continue to try to do things on your own without allowing the Lord to handle things for you. You try to deal with your skeletons and become confused and indecisive. This state of double mindedness keep you from walking by faith in God. Instead of producing fruits of the spirit as outlined in Galations 5 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) you are wallering in doubt and unbelief. Seek wisdom from the Lord to see you through.

James 1:5-8 says that if you need wisdom, ask God for it and he will give it generously. He loves to give to his people. The only condition is that you not have doubt and unbelief. Doubt and unbelief can lead to separation from God. When you live in this state you are unable to see and understand the full magnitude of God and his promises.

Once you confront the past, you must confess it. Ask the Lord for forgiveness and strength to move forward. By confession, sin is placed under the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Christ because he will give us strength. Thank God we serve a forgiving savior. "And their sins and inequities will I remember no more" Hebrews 10:17. We are reassured that through confession with a pure heart we are redeemed.

Consider this....someone once said "The present must forget the past by correction, or else the past will become a moral and spiritual liability for the future.

The third thing we must do to forget the past is have courageous control. Courage is defined as the strength of heart and mind to confront an opponent with the confidence that you will ultimately succeed. Satan is our opponent. We must learn to control his lies. Satan is real. He will try to inhabit your mind by reminding you of your past. As Christians, we are confronted by Satan everyday. It’s not uncommon for him to try and divert your thoughts from Christ and overwhelm you with feelings of inadequacy. We are in a spiritual warfare!

The good news is that because you are a child of God, you have the tools needed to overcome the evil one. You have God’s word! It is your sword and your shield against Satan’s lies! Ephesians 6:10 tells us to use the shield of faith which can stop all the burning arrows of the evil one. Verse 11 says that we should accept God’s salvation as our helmet and take the sword of the spirit which is God’s word. This is our protection!

As Christians we must not walk in fear or in the past. We must be courageous. Being courageous means calling out to Jesus who is always there to rescue us. As believers, our desire should be to become more like Christ in all that say and do. We should want to respond with gentleness and compassion. We should strive to run the race as Paul describes in Philippians. Our goal is heaven. Don’t let your past failures and hurts keep you running the race and crossing the finish line in heaven!