Do you like to reflect on the past? It is important to remember the past and thank God for the amazing things He’s done in us and through us. It is important also to reflect on past mistakes we’ve made, so we don’t repeat them. However, when we pitch a tent in the past, trying to live there, we aren’t living in a healthy way.
When God safely delivered the Israelites through circumstances, He commanded them to build altars for remembrance of His faithfulness, however, He never told them to stay in those places [Deuteronomy 27:1-9]. He also commanded Lot’s wife to flee Sodom and not to look back but to press on, moving forward, because to do otherwise would lead to death [Genesis 19:22-26].
Many of the young ladies I work with who have come out of sex trafficking have a hard time breaking free from the life. It’s because they focus their attention on the past: what was done to them and what they did themselves. It’s natural and for a short season necessary for healing to take place. Yet, they must shift their vision forward in order to obtain their full healing and walk into their destiny. They can’t hold onto their past and embrace their future too. We’re the same way.
Is there something in your past that continues to haunt you? Do you find yourself longing to move forward, but feel like your momentum is impeded by something from your past? Lay it down at the foot of the cross. The Lord is big enough to handle it. He isn’t constrained by time and space. He can step into your past and redeem what was lost and take you into your future. Let us not forget 2 Corinthians 5:17,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
As the brother, Nick, said to his sister, Toula, in the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding,
Don’t let your past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become.”
Whether your memories are good ones or bad ones, thank God for them because they have helped shape you into the person you are today, but then move forward. Your future is in front of you, not behind you. Make sure you’re looking in the right direction.
Leave A Comment