Forgetting those things that are behind…
Forgetting Those Things that are Behind.
One of the worst postures you can have as a believer is the unwillingness to forget “those things that are behind”. Meaning, to not allow the memory or decisions from what was to affect your path forward. It is the wildest yet simplest phenomenon to bear the wounds of the past while living in the liberty of your present. God has worked in so many ways in your life over the years, so to allow Satan to lead you to fixate on one failure, one heartbreak, one moment, is to do yourself a disservice by denying the Holy help that is available for you.
Paul had a lot to forget when he penned this epistle to the church of Phillipi. Before his name was changed from Saul to Paul, he was under Roman authority to persecute Christians. So, these words have a depth that we may never fully understand. Memories have the capacity to pull us back, mentally, into a moment that stings. Regret, guilt, and shame can keep one hiding in the shadows instead of trusting God’s plan.
How to Overcome the memories of the past
In one of the most challenging seasons of my life, I found myself stuck. It was as if the broken pieces around me would only cut me more when I tried to pick them up and surrender them to God. The more I contemplated how to get beyond the memories from my past, the more paralyzed I became. The memories, the triggers, and the shame of all of the choices I could have made and many moments, the wrestle of could-have and should have felt like burdens I would have to live with forever. One day, I finally learned that the closer you get to healing, the more pain you will feel from the shame, but with healing comes revelation. So the pain or the memories no longer dictate how I view my past, but the revelation of God’s purposes at work does.
The doors of liberty were connected to the willingness to confront the pain and breathe. Just breathe, while relying on God’s power to see me through.
Over the years, I have prayed about overcoming, written about overcoming. Still, it wasn’t until I decided that I would, and actually did it through the power of the Holy Spirit, that my mind and heart became truly free. Freedom isn’t just an idea. It can be your reality when you lean into God’s Word, even when you are weak, trusting in His strength.
Overcoming happens over time and with practice. One must reroute the negative thoughts, memories, and feelings toward the truth of what God says is possible today. It is crucial that you repeat these truths in prayer and conversations. Your brain must become accustomed to hearing, “That was then, this is now”.
There is hope for you,
If you have been stuck in a cycle that has hindered your progress forward, I encourage you to seek the Lord. Pray, transparently and wholeheartedly, for help and release. God is Faithful.
Prayer has always changed things, but sometimes “the thing is you. It’s you who must believe God’s word of old things passing away and being made new in Christ. It’s you who must wrap your circumstances around the hope that is offered through Christ.
Don’t waste another moment in the shadows of your past. God has so much better in store for you; trust Him.
Be Encouraged,
'Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but 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. 'Philippians 3:13-14
