One of the greatest problems we Christians have is leaving the past behind us and moving on to the future with hope and optimism. The Apostle Paul admonished the Christians at Philippi regarding this when he wrote, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high-calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Often it is our past that induces a sense of defeat in our lives. We become obsessed with memories of failures from the past, or we allow previous mistakes to stifle our spiritual growth. Hurts, emotional pain, disappointments can become like a cancer, metastasizing into anger, bitterness, and frustration that paralyze us, and keep us on the bench rather than in the game.
Paul recognized these symptoms, and that is why he advocated the importance of letting go and moving on. Often in counsel I have expressed a similar statement "You can't go back, only ahead."
To use a sports analogy, one of the things every sprinter learns is the importance of focusing on the race, and not his competition. Just one glance behind to see if someone is gaining ground may cause a misstep, and the race may be lost!
That is how we believers ought to be. Keep your focus on the Lord Jesus. Relinquish the debilitating power the past may have on you. The hurts, disappointments and failures. In all honesty, the only thing we ought to see when we look back are the blessings of God. And let’s not forget, God can use of the past to make us wiser and stronger. We are not to allow past circumstances to render us helpless in the present.
As Warren Weirsbe puts it, "Focus your gaze and concentrate on what God has for you in the future.
See you Sunday!
Pastor
No comments:
Post a Comment