Leaving The Past Behind

“Leaving The Past Behind”

By Zach Wood

Philippians 3:12-14

“Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  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.”

These are amazing and encouraging words as Paul gives a pep talk to the church in Philippi about pressing on and forgetting the past.  How many of us have a hard time struggling with our past and dwelling on it?  Yeah, c’mon, let me see all those hands!  Every single one of us has had this struggle and we often continue to struggle with the past.  The enemy loves to keep bringing up our painful past of hurt, sorrow and mistakes.  He wants nothing more than to make us fall in our walk with Christ and keep us from pressing on.

All of us deal with our past and the many things we have regretted.  There’s not a one of us that doesn’t deal with this pain.  It doesn’t take much to bring back memories of past failures and disappointments.  Our enemy is very good at bringing all that junk back into our radar so that we deal with it all over again.  However, Christ tells us we are special and that He has made us new and that we can press on and focus on the prize He has promised to us for following Him.  He has forgiven our sins and washed us clean, so we can focus on all that God has waiting for us.

For myself, I deal with my past often. And, when I do, I get down on myself pretty hard.  It’s a weakness I have and I work through it usually daily.  I have to be reminded that God loves me and is rooting for me, unlike the enemy, who wants nothing more than for me to be defeated.  I have to be reminded that my past does not define me, Jesus Christ does!  He makes me who I am.  I am a new creation in Him and that’s awesome!  And, so are YOU! 

I have heard this phrase many times through my life and want to share with you, “The next time Satan reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future!”  Let us press on and continue to strain toward what is ahead.  Forget the past and focus on all He has in store for you.